ESPE Abstracts

Objectives: Diabetes in children and young adults is increasing worldwide. However, the study of change in fasting glucose among general pediatric and young adult population was lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the secular trend of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels in non-diabetic Korean youth and young adults and to evaluate the change in the proportion of impaired fasting glucose (IFG).

Methods: Study subjects were Korean youth aged 10–19 years and young adults aged 20–29 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). KNAHNES was a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. KNHANES wave 3 (K3) was performed in 2005, KNHANES 4 (K4) in 2007–09, KNHANES 5 (K5) in 2010–12 and KNHANES 6 (K6) in 2013–15. Subjects were classified according to FPG: normal plasma glucose (<100 mg/dL); IFG (100–125 mg/dL).

Results: A total of 14,128 eligible participants (youth 6,872) with available FPG were enrolled. Mean FPG (mg/dL) in youth was 87.6±0.3 in K3, 88.6±0.2 in K4, 88.5±0.2 in K5, and 91.3±0.2 in K6, respectively (P<0.001). In young adults, mean FPG was 85.1±0.4 in K3, 87.3±0.2 in K4, 87.4±0.2 in K5, and 89.0±0.3 in K6, respectively (P<0.001). The absolute change in FPG between K3 and K6 was 3.7±0.4 mg/dL in youth and 3.9±0.5 mg/dL in young adults. The proportion of IFG in youth was 3.2% in K3, 5.2% in K4, 4.6% in K5, and 9.9% in K6 (P<0.001). In young adults, the proportion of IFG was 2.1% in K3, 5.5% in K4, 5.0% in K5, and 6.8% in K6, respectively (P=0.005). In overweight and obese population, the proportion of IFG was 3.9% in K3, 11.3% in K4, 11.3% in K5 and 12.0% in K6, respectively (P=0.02). In normal weight population, the proportion of IFG was 3.1% in K3, 4.5% in K4, 3.5% in K5, and 8.4% in K6, respectively (P<0.001). In multiple regression analyses, mean FPG showed significant linear correlation with KNAHNES wave after adjusting sex, age, and body mass index (adjusted R² =0.073, P<0.001).

Conclusions: In Korean youth and young adults, mean FPG showed increasing tendency over the last 10 years. The proportion of IFG was also increasing, especially in male and obese population. Further research is needed to investigate associated factors with this trend.