There are less common types of diabetes, which may warrant a different approach and treatment.
Children who are misclassified may be subjected to daily insulin injections, instead of pills that would treat them well. Therefore, we make every effort in our Diabetes Clinic to thoroughly evaluate the cause of diabetes in each child.
- One such uncommon type of diabetes is maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), a genetic form passed from one generation to the next that affects the ability of the pancreas to secrete insulin. MODY is made up of five or more distinct forms, and represents up to 5 percent of children who may have been classified before as type 2 diabetes.
- Diabetes associated with rare genetic syndromes, mitochondrial diseases or rare conditions such as Cushing’s syndrome (excess production of steroids by the adrenal glands) or excess growth hormone.
- Diabetes secondary to medications (for example, steroids or cancer drugs) or other conditions that destroy or damage the pancreas (for example, pancreatitis or cystic fibrosis), or following surgery to remove the pancreas.
Written by Rady Children’s Division of Endocrinology/Diabetes