Background: Despite the importance of and social concern regarding prevention of diabetes at younger ages, limited data are available. This study sought to analyze changes in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Koreans younger than 30 years according to sex, age, and level of income.Methods: The dataset analyzed in this study was derived from health insurance claims recorded in the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database. Participants’ level of income was categorized as low (quintile 1, <20% of insurance premium) or others (quintile 2–5).Results: In males and females, the prevalence of T2DM per 10,000 people steadily increased from 2.57 in 2002 to 11.41 in 2016, and from 1.96 in 2002 to 8.63 in 2016. The prevalence of T2DM in girls was higher in the age group of 5 to 14 years. Even though the prevalence was higher among those older than 20 years, the increase had started earlier, in the early 2000s, in younger age group. Adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in low-income families showed a remarkable increase in prevalence of T2DM, especially in boys.Conclusion: The prevalence of T2DM in young Koreans increased more than 4.4-fold from 2002 to 2016, and the increase started in the early 2000s in younger age groups and in low-income families. This is the first study to examine the trend in prevalence of T2DM in children, adolescents, and young adults in Korea. Future studies and collaborations with social support systems to prevent T2DM at an early age group should be performed.

Lee Y, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2022 May;37(22):e176. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e176

Pediatric obesity is a serious global health challenge. In East Asia, rapid socioeconomic changes have increased obesity rates. This study examines weight distribution and obesity trends in East Asian children using WHO criteria. Data from the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration was used to analyze weight categories (thinness, normal weight, overweight, and obesity) among children aged 5 to 19 in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Data were collected through probabilistic sampling and national surveys and classified using WHO BMI standards. Age standardized prevalence rate enabled cross-country comparisons for boys and girls from 2010 to 2022. Statistical methods included arithmetic statistics, linear regression, and time series analysis using the ARIMA model, with SAS 9.4 and SPSS for analysis. Significant trends were found (p for trend < 0.05). Taiwan and South Korea showed increased thinness, while China and Japan showed decreases. Normal weight prevalence declined, notably among South Korean boys. Overweight and obesity rates rose, especially among South Korean boys and Chinese girls. Japan’s rates remained stable, while Taiwan showed minor fluctuations. Boys had higher overweight and obesity rates than girls in all countries. The highest rates were among children aged 10 to 11 years. East Asia, particularly South Korea and China, has seen rising obesity rates. Increasing thinness in South Korea and Taiwan also requires attention. The decline in healthy-weight children is concerning. Interventions should target children before ages 10 to 11. Urgent, tailored public health interventions are needed.

Background: Children experience seasonal variations in growth whereby height increases most in spring and least in autumn, and weight increases least in spring and most in autumn. We hypothesized that activity restriction caused by efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) would result in increased body mass index (BMI) in children, differing from conventional seasonal growth variations. Methods: We included 169 children who visited endocrine clinics of three hospitals in Korea at regular intervals under the same conditions for two years. Visit dates were D1 (January, 2019), D2 (July, 2019), D3 (January, 2020) before the COVID-19 outbreak, and D4 (July, 2020) during the pandemic. Differences in the z-score for height (HT), weight (WT), and BMI among time points and between spring seasons (i.e., S1–S3) were compared. Results: There were significant differences in BMIz among time points, which decreased from D1–D2 and increased from D2–D3 and D3–D4. WTz significantly increased from D2–D3 and D3–D4. BMIz values of S1 (spring 2019) and S3 (spring 2020) were −0.05 and 0.16, respectively, showing significant differences. WTz values between S1 and S3 were significantly different (−0.02 vs. 0.13). Conclusions: In 2019, there were conventional seasonal variations in BMIz, which declined in spring and increased in autumn, while in 2020, BMIz increased even in spring. The COVID-19 pandemic may have affected seasonal variations in the growth of children attending endocrine clinics.

Precocious puberty, resulting in various physical, mental, and social changes, may have negative consequences for children and their families. In this study, we investigated whether there were differences between parental obesity, children’s and parent’s awareness of body shape, and dietary habits according to obesity levels in children with precocious puberty. A total of 193 children (93.3% girls) diagnosed with precocious puberty were classified into three groups according to their obesity levels. Negative body shape awareness and dissatisfaction were significantly higher in the obese group than in the normal-weight group, and parents were more likely to perceive their children as fat than the children themselves. In addition, the obesity rate of parents in the obese group was higher, and the body mass indexes of children and parents were significantly correlated. The nutrition quotients (NQs) were revealed to be significantly lower in the obese group with significantly lower scores. The significant factors related to obesity were the awareness of a fatty body image and dissatisfaction, obesity of the parents, and the NQ. The results show that obese children with precocious puberty were more vulnerable to negative lifestyle, family environment, and self-esteem effects than their normal-weight peers. Therefore, various interventions, such as environmental management, psychological support, and nutrition education, are needed that focus on the obesity and health conditions of children with precocious puberty.

To identify the source of infection and determine the clinical features and laboratory finding of measles infection. In 27 measles patients, except for 3 adult patients, the rest of 24 pediatric measles cases were analyzed with regard to age, sex, immunization status, transmission routes and molecular genotyping of measles virus. Eighteen measles patients who admitted in isolation ward were set apart to investigate clinical findings and its correlation with laboratory characteristics. Retrospective analysis of cases was conducted in this study. Of the 24 pediatric patients, 23 (95.8%) had not received any measles-containing vaccine (MCV). Sixteen of the patients (66.7%) were aged <12 months. The suspicious index case of a girl aged 34 months was not vaccinated with MCV1 and got measles after a trip to Philippines, and molecular genotype was revealed as B3. Measles outbreaks in the community such as a restaurant were followed by this one imported case. According to analysis of 18 patients admitted in isolation ward, the median level of C-reactive protein (CRP) was 0.38 mg/dL and that of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was 1200 IU/L. All of the 18 patients had LDH levels above the normal range. Age correlated with CRP (ρ = 0.528, P = 0.024) and LDH (ρ = 0.501, P = 0.034). The duration of fever was correlated with the duration of fever before rash (ρ = 0.898, P < 0.01). The duration of hospitalization was correlated with CRP (ρ = 0.586, P = 0.011). The white blood cell counts were correlated with the levels of LDH (ρ = 0.505, P = 0.033), aspartate aminotransferase (ρ = 0.507, P = 0.032), and alanine aminotransferase (ρ = 0.481, P = 0.043). Early weaning of maternally derived measles antibodies therefore vaccination of MCV1 at a young age from 9 months to 12 months should be considered in situations of early exposure. Furthermore, there is a call for consideration of scheduling an earlier age for the first dose of MMR vaccine in Europe. It is necessary for Korea to investigate the duration of the presence and quantitative analysis of maternal measles antibodies in infants and to reconsider the timing of MCV1.