demonstrating differences in complication rates between youth and adults with type 2 diabetes of known duration .
One thing that ’ s clear is that , for the youth cohort , those rates are higher , and the complications more severe , than anyone suspected 15 years ago – and they start earlier . For Dr . Zeitler and the TODAY team , the next step will be to study new cohorts starting at younger ages to understand why some kids with obesity get diabetes and others don ’ t .
“ If you can ID who ’ s at risk , you can start developing more effective interventions ,” he says .
He ’ s currently seeking funding for those studies from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases , the same National Institutes of Health branch that funded TODAY and TODAY2 .
Until then , the work continues .•
1 . TODAY Study Group , Zeitler P , Hirst K , Pyle L , Linder B , Copeland K , Arslanian S , Cuttler L , Nathan DM , Tollefsen S , Wilfley D , Kaufman F . A clinical trial to maintain glycemic control in youth with type 2 diabetes . N Engl J Med . 2012 Jun 14 ; 366 ( 24 ): 2247-56 .
2 . TODAY Study Group , Bjornstad P , Drews KL , Caprio S , Gubitosi-Klug R , Nathan DM , Tesfaldet B , Tryggestad J , White NH , Zeitler P . Long-Term Complications in Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes . N Engl J Med . 2021 Jul 29 ; 385 ( 5 ): 416-426 .
3 . TODAY Study Group . Effects of Metabolic Factors , Race-Ethnicity , and Sex on the Development of Nephropathy in Adolescents and Young Adults With Type 2 Diabetes : Results From the TODAY Study . Diabetes Care . 2021 Sep 16 .
4 . Srinivasan S , Chen L , Todd J , Divers J , Gidding S , Chernausek S , Gubitosi-Klug RA , Kelsey MM , Shah R , Black MH , Wagenknecht LE , Manning A , Flannick J , Imperatore G , Mercader JM , Dabelea D , Florez JC ; ProDiGY Consortium . The First Genome-Wide Association Study for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth : The Progress in Diabetes Genetics in Youth ( ProDiGY ) Consortium . Diabetes . 2021 Apr ; 70 ( 4 ): 996-1005 .
5 . Inge TH , Courcoulas AP , Jenkins TM , Michalsky MP , Brandt ML , Xanthakos SA , Dixon JB , Harmon CM , Chen MK , Xie C , Evans ME , Helmrath MA ; Teen – LABS Consortium . Five-Year Outcomes of Gastric Bypass in Adolescents as Compared with Adults . N Engl J Med . 2019 May 30 ; 380 ( 22 ): 2136-2145 .
6 . Bjornstad P , Hughan K , Kelsey MM , Shah AS , Lynch J , Nehus E , Mitsnefes M , Jenkins T , Xu P , Xie C , Inge T , Nadeau K . Effect of Surgical Versus Medical Therapy on Diabetic Kidney Disease Over 5 Years in Severely Obese Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes . Diabetes Care . 2020 Jan ; 43 ( 1 ): 187-195 .
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