Teens With Autism At Higher Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

HealthDay News — Adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a study published online March 22 in Diabetes Care.

Mu-Hong Chen, MD, from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, and colleagues used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to identify 6122 adolescents and young adults with ASD and 24 488 age- and sex-matched control subjects (2002 to 2009). Patients were monitored until the end of 2011 to identify those who developed T2DM.

The researchers found that adolescents (hazard ratio [HR], 2.71) and young adults (HR, 5.31) with ASD had a higher risk of developing T2DM versus those without ASD, after adjusting for demographic data, use of atypical antipsychotics, and medical comorbidities. There was also a higher likelihood of subsequent T2DM tied to short-term (HR, 1.97) and long-term (HR, 1.64) use of atypical antipsychotics.

“Further research is necessary to investigate the common pathophysiology of ASD and T2DM,” the authors wrote.

Reference

Chen M, Lan W, Hsu J, et al. Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study. Diabetes Care. 2016; doi:10.2337/dc15-1807.