ESPE Abstracts

The “Hybrid Diabetes (HD)” is a new term that emerged in the last few years to describe diabetes with combined features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The etiology behind hybrid diabetes is not well understood, and clinical characteristics for these unique patients were not described before. Differentiating HD from other forms of diabetes will lead to a better understanding of the disease process and course, as well as knowing the most appropriate management plan to prevent future complications.

Patients and Methods: Seven children who were identified as HD were compared to 59 children who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (age 7 to 18 years). Their clinical and biochemical data at presentation were collected and analyzed to delineate the difference between the 2 groups.

Results: The age at presentation did not differ between the 2 groups. The mean BMI SD of T2DM was significantly higher than the DD group (P < 0.04). None of the T2DM patients presented with DKA, while 28% of children with HD presented with DKA. No significant difference among the two groups was found regarding, family history of DM, presence of AN, presence of polyuria, and polydipsia or HbA1C concentration. The mean C peptide level at presentation was significantly higher in T2DM versus HD group. (p 0.01)

Discussion: Our study showed that children with HD were less obese and has lower C peptide levels and a higher risk to present with DKA compared to T2DM.

Conclusion: HD is a newly recognized subtype of diabetes and has special characteristics that differentiate it from other types of diabetes. Further studies are needed to investigate the long-term prognosis and management plans for this group.