Background: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) in children and adolescents has become an important public health concern due to the increase in childhood obesity worldwide. The urgency to address T2D is evident as children and adolescents are at a higher risk of complications due to prolonged disease duration. We aimed to estimate the incidence rate (IR) of T2D in Kuwaiti children and adolescents aged 14 years and younger between 2011 and 2013 and to describe their clinical characteristics at the time of diagnosis. Material and Methods: All newly diagnosed patients were registered through the Childhood-Onset Diabetes electronic Registry implemented in Kuwait. Cases who met the 2018 ISPAD guidelines for diagnosis of T2D were included. Results: A total of 32 patients were included, equally distributed gender-wise, with a mean age 12.2 years (±1.7 SD), lower for females than males (11.5 vs. 12.2, p < 0.025). Data ascertainment was 94.1% (95%CI; 91.6–96.6%). Overall IR was 2.56 (95% CI; 1.78-3.56) per 100,000 Kuwaiti children and adolescents per year. Most of the patients (n = 30; 93.8%) presented with T2D between the ages 10–14 years, with age-specific IR of 8.0 (95%CI; 5.5–11.3). No statistically significant difference between males and females with regards to BMI z scores or HbA1C at diagnosis. Conclusion: The true incidence of T2D in Kuwaiti children and adolescents is expected to be considerably higher as we have reported only symptomatic cases. Future research should focus on screening children and adolescents at risk to enable accurate estimates. More efforts are needed to better understand the clinical course of T2D early in life to improve management, prevent complications and improve quality of life.

Aim: To assess the level of glycemic, blood pressure, and cholesterol control (the ‘ABCs’) nationally amongst adults with diabetes living in Kuwait.Materials and Methods: Using data from two national cross‐sectional surveys, the levels of risk factor control were assessed in 1,801 adults with diabetes, aged 18–82 years. Glycemic control was defined as HbA1c < 7%, blood pressure control as systolic and diastolic blood pressures of <140/90 mmHg, and non‐HDL cholesterol control as <3.4 mmol/L.Results: The percentage of adults with diabetes achieving control was 39.2% (95% CI, 37.0–41.5) for glycemia, 58.4% (95% CI, 56.0–60.7) for blood pressure, and 28.3% (95% CI, 26.3–30.4) for non‐HDL cholesterol. The percentage of adults who were non‐smokers was 77.6% (95%, CI 75.6–79.4). The percentage of adults with diabetes achieving control on all three risk factors was 7.4% (95% CI, 6.3–8.8), and only 5.8% (95% CI, 4.8–7.0) achieved ABC control and were nonsmokers. ABC control was 30% higher in women compared with men. Non‐Kuwaitis were almost twice as likely to have uncontrolled ABC factors compared with Kuwaitis.Conclusions: Only 1 in 13 people with diabetes in Kuwait achieved good control of glycemia, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Only 2 in 5 achieved glycemic control, 6 in 10 blood pressure control, and 2 in 7 cholesterol control. A national diabetes quality improvement program is urgently needed to improve the quality of care and to prevent long‐term complications.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. The study will help to inform the country's health systems in identifying opportunities and challenges for optimal management of T2D and ASCVD. The study was a sub-analysis within the PACT-MEA study, a noninterventional, cross-sectional, observational study, which included 1062 adults from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar diagnosed with T2D. The presence and the risk of ASCVD were determined from patient medical records. Statistical analyses included prevalence estimates stratified by sex, age and ASCVD type. Among the three countries included in this study, Bahrain had the highest prevalence at 36.6 %, followed by Qatar and Kuwait at 23.4 % and 19.4 %, respectively. The unweighted prevalence was significantly higher in men and increased with age. Coronary artery disease was the most common type of ASCVD, followed by cerebrovascular and peripheral artery disease. Furthermore, participants in all three countries were classified as having a high or very high ASCVD risk based on the European Society of Cardiology 2021 guidelines. Based on the prevalence in this study, one in five participants had established ASCVD across Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, and all the participants investigated were at high or very high risk. Study results indicate an immediate need to implement policy measures that include preventative strategies on the common risk factors to reduce the high CVD mortality and morbidity in the Gulf Region.

This study aimed to provide a global insight into initiatives in type 1 diabetes care driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and associations with glycemic outcomes. An online questionnaire regarding diabetes care before and during the pandemic was sent to all centers (n=97, 66,985 youth with type 1 diabetes) active in the SWEET registry. Eighty-two responded, and 70 (42,798 youth with type 1 diabetes) had available data (from individuals with type 1 diabetes duration >3 months, aged ≤21 years) for all 4 years from 2018 to 2021. Statistical models were adjusted, among others, for technology use. Sixty-five centers provided telemedicine during COVID-19. Among those centers naive to telemedicine before the pandemic (n=22), four continued only face-to-face visits. Centers that transitioned partially to telemedicine (n=32) showed a steady increase in HbA1c between 2018 and 2021 (p<0.001). Those that transitioned mainly to telemedicine (n=33%) improved HbA1c in 2021 compared to 2018 (p<0.001). Changes to models of care delivery driven by the pandemic showed significant associations with HbA1c shortly after the pandemic outbreak and 2 years of follow-up. The association appeared independent of the concomitant increase in technology use among youth with type 1 diabetes.

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a severe complication arising from SARS-CoV-2 infection, with indications that rare inborn errors of immunity may play a role in its pathogenesis. Recent studies suggest that genetic predispositions, particularly monogenic forms, could significantly influence the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in MIS-C.Methods: We analysed 24 children under 12 years old, all of whom met the criteria provided by the World Health Organization, 2020 for MIS-C diagnosis, from the Paediatric COVID-19 Registry in Kuwait (PCR-Q8). Demographic and clinical data were collected from medical records, and exome sequencing was performed on the children and their parents to identify rare exonic variants. These variants were prioritized using two approaches: a candidate genes approach employing trio segregation analysis, and a candidate variants approach using a gene panel informed by previous studies on MIS-C-related genetic variants and datasets of differentially expressed genes in MIS-C patients.Results: The candidate genes approach identified 53 unique genes in 20 of the 24 probands, including DDX60 and TMEM154, which were also differentially expressed between MIS-C and control groups. The candidate variants approach identified 33 rare, predicted deleterious heterozygous variants across 19 unique genes in 19 of the 24 probands, including both previously described and novel candidate variants for MIS-C. Pathway analysis of the identified genes from both approaches revealed significant involvement in immune response, viral defence, and inflammatory pathways.Conclusion: This study underscores the monogenic susceptibility to MIS-C, enhancing the evidence base through comprehensive genetic analysis. The findings highlight the critical role of genetic predispositions in MIS-C and suggest that further functional genomics work is necessary to explore the mechanistic contributions of these genes, facilitating the development of targeted diagnostic strategies.