Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced the launch of the initial phase of DISCOVERY of Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth, a nationwide National Institute of Health (NIH) study to address the surge in youth diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over the past two decades, a trend clinicians expect to continue. Over the course of five years, researchers will review and analyze biologic, social, and environmental drivers of youth-onset type 2 diabetes. The goal of the observational study is to help determine which children are at the highest risk for developing the disease and how to better prevent, screen for, and manage the disease.
Funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the study builds on previous NIDDK-funded research, indicating that youth-onset type 2 diabetes is more challenging to treat and progresses more aggressively than adult-onset type 2 diabetes. CHOP also contributed to those research findings, known as Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) and a follow-up study (TODAY2), which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 and 2021.
“Children who are overweight or obese face increased risks, but we are still uncertain about the best way to identify those who go on to develop type 2 diabetes,” said Lorraine E. Levitt Katz, MD, Principal Investigator of the CHOP site for the DISCOVERY Trial and the prior TODAY trials. “Our research aims to shed light on the unique drivers of youth-onset type 2 diabetes, which will help clinicians better understand which children will develop the disease and guide more effective, targeted prevention and intervention strategies.”
CHOP is among 15 sites across the country recruiting 3,600 participants total, ages 9 to 14, who are considered at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. They must have started puberty, be overweight or obese, and have high-normal to above-normal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. The participants will reflect the U.S. population of youth with type 2 diabetes, including people from diverse racial and ethnic, socioeconomically disadvantaged and underserved rural populations. Additional DISCOVERY investigators in CHOP’s Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes include Andrea Kelly, MD, MSCE, Terri Lipman, PhD, Sara Pinney, MD, MS, Rachana Shah, MD, MsTR and Emma Edmondson, MD of General Pediatrics.
In addition to looking at biological factors, the study team will gather comprehensive data from participants and their families to understand what social and environmental factors may be adversely contributing to health disparities and poor outcomes among youth with type 2 diabetes.
Prior research suggests that social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, have a powerful influence on shaping health outcomes. For example, people without access to healthy food and safe places to engage in physical activity may be more likely to develop obesity, which is associated with type 2 diabetes.
“By identifying key risk factors early on, we can empower young people and their families with the knowledge and resources to help prevent type 2 diabetes, fostering a healthier future for generations to come,” said Katz, who is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
The study is funded through NIH grants DK134971, DK134984, DK134975, DK134996, DK134958, DK134967, DK135002, DK134982, DK135007, DK134988, DK134978, DK134981, DK135012, DK135015, DK134976, and DK134966.
Learn more about DISCOVERY, here.
To contact the CHOP DISCOVERY team, please reach out to DISCOVERYSTUDY@CHOP.edu.
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Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced the launch of the initial phase of DISCOVERY of Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth, a nationwide National Institute of Health (NIH) study to address the surge in youth diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over the past two decades, a trend clinicians expect to continue. Over the course of five years, researchers will review and analyze biologic, social, and environmental drivers of youth-onset type 2 diabetes. The goal of the observational study is to help determine which children are at the highest risk for developing the disease and how to better prevent, screen for, and manage the disease.
Funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the study builds on previous NIDDK-funded research, indicating that youth-onset type 2 diabetes is more challenging to treat and progresses more aggressively than adult-onset type 2 diabetes. CHOP also contributed to those research findings, known as Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) and a follow-up study (TODAY2), which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 and 2021.
“Children who are overweight or obese face increased risks, but we are still uncertain about the best way to identify those who go on to develop type 2 diabetes,” said Lorraine E. Levitt Katz, MD, Principal Investigator of the CHOP site for the DISCOVERY Trial and the prior TODAY trials. “Our research aims to shed light on the unique drivers of youth-onset type 2 diabetes, which will help clinicians better understand which children will develop the disease and guide more effective, targeted prevention and intervention strategies.”
CHOP is among 15 sites across the country recruiting 3,600 participants total, ages 9 to 14, who are considered at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. They must have started puberty, be overweight or obese, and have high-normal to above-normal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. The participants will reflect the U.S. population of youth with type 2 diabetes, including people from diverse racial and ethnic, socioeconomically disadvantaged and underserved rural populations. Additional DISCOVERY investigators in CHOP’s Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes include Andrea Kelly, MD, MSCE, Terri Lipman, PhD, Sara Pinney, MD, MS, Rachana Shah, MD, MsTR and Emma Edmondson, MD of General Pediatrics.
In addition to looking at biological factors, the study team will gather comprehensive data from participants and their families to understand what social and environmental factors may be adversely contributing to health disparities and poor outcomes among youth with type 2 diabetes.
Prior research suggests that social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, have a powerful influence on shaping health outcomes. For example, people without access to healthy food and safe places to engage in physical activity may be more likely to develop obesity, which is associated with type 2 diabetes.
“By identifying key risk factors early on, we can empower young people and their families with the knowledge and resources to help prevent type 2 diabetes, fostering a healthier future for generations to come,” said Katz, who is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
The study is funded through NIH grants DK134971, DK134984, DK134975, DK134996, DK134958, DK134967, DK135002, DK134982, DK135007, DK134988, DK134978, DK134981, DK135012, DK135015, DK134976, and DK134966.
Learn more about DISCOVERY, here.
To contact the CHOP DISCOVERY team, please reach out to DISCOVERYSTUDY@CHOP.edu.
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Kaila M. Revello
Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes