Increasing prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia in adolescents aged 10-18 years and their relationship with metabolic indicators : The Korea National health and Nutrition Examination Study (KNHANES) 2007-2018.

Purpose Pediatric diabetes is a common health burden in worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia in Korean teenagers aged 10-18 years and to evaluate its association with metabolic indicators. Methods To assess the risk of diabetes in domestic children and adolescents, the prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia was calculated, and a trend was evaluated using multi-year Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data and multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between hyperglycemia and metabolic factor. Results The prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia, defined as an impaired fasting glucose(fasting glucose level > 100 mg/dL and < 125 mg/dL) and diabetes mellitus (fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL) was estimated in Korean teenagers. It increased from the 4th (2007-2009) to the 5th (2010-2012), 6th (2013-2015), and 7th (2016-2018) KNHANES surveys, from 5.39 to 4.79, 10.03, and 11.66 per 100 persons, respectively. In multivariate analysis, systolic blood pressure and serum triglyceride were also higher in fasting hyperglycemia group, that is, systolic blood pressure was 109.83 mmHg and 112.64 mmHg and serum triglyceride 81.59 mg/dL and 89.60 mg/dL in the normal blood glucose and fasting hyperglycemia groups, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of fasting hyperglycemia among children and adolescents has increased over the past decade, and this increase is potentially associated with metabolic abnormalities such as hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia. Great effort is urgently required to reduce this chronic medical burden in adolescence.