WRITTEN BY: T’ara Smith
Authors and/or presenters: Kimberly Drews, Ph.D.; Lorraine E. Levitt Katz, MD; Petter Bjornstad, MD; Neil H. White, MD; Jeanie B. Tryggestad, MD; Ruth S. Weinstock, MD, PhD.
Study Name: The T reatment O ptions for Type 2 D iabetes in A dolescents and Y outh (TODAY)
Study Background: TODAY was the first multiethnic randomized trial to examine Type 2 diabetes in youth. Type 2 diagnoses in young populations are more frequent than adults. Until the 1990s, cases of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children and adolescents were rare. In addition, the increase in the number of cases would seem to be directly related to the increase in childhood obesity rates.
Study Goals: The Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study sought to understand the progress of T2D in young populations as well as to analyze its clinical path and the risk of developing complications and comorbidities.
Study Methods: Participants consisted of groups of children and adolescents diagnosed with T2D of different races and ethnicities and a followed up to understand clinical path of complications and comorbidities in these populations. TODAY2 tracked the progress of the T2D in these populations. The results are presented in terms of complications and comorbidities such as:
- Renal (Kidney)
- Cardiac
- Ophthalmological (Vision)
- Pregnancy
Study Results: TODAY2 study data show accelerated rates of severe complications such as renal, cardiac, eye, nerve, and pregnancy issues in young adults with youth-onset Type 2 diabetes. The research points to a huge need for more aggressive T2D management to minimize or even prevent the development of serious complications. It is also observed that Type 2 diabetes in young populations appears with a higher rate of beta cell decompensation. It is also reported that there is less success in treatment with medications in these interventions.