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Beta-cell function declines over time in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but whether this occurs in adolescents is uncertain. Investigators prospectively compared beta-cell functioning over time between 39 adolescents with newly diagnosed T2DM (mean age, 15 years; body-mass index z-score, 2.4) and 32 obese adolescents without T2DM of comparable body-mass index, gender, and race (mean age, 14) during a 2-year period.
All participants were in later stages of puberty (Tanner stage 4 or greater). More than half of adolescents with T2DM were being treated with insulin, and 80% were taking oral anti-T2DM medications. Beta-cell function, as measured by the disposition index (insulin secretion in response to an intravenous glucose load …