Insulin resistance in Japanese adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus

An oral glucose tolerance test (O-GTT) was conducted in 22 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus whose ages at onset were less than 18 years old. They were classified into 2 groups, obese and non-obese at onset, and insulin secretory function was compared with that of a non-obese healthy group. The results show that, in the group of obese subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus, both values of fasting IRI and sigmaIRI were significantly higher than those in the healthy group. In the non-obese adolescent group with type 2 diabetes mellitus, both values of fasting IRI and sigmaIRI were also significantly higher than those in the healthy group, although the difference was not as prominent as in the obese subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It was revealed that insulin resistance is present not only in obese adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but also in non-obese adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus.