Screening for Diabetes in Persons with Turner Syndrome

Persons with Turner syndrome are at higher risk than normal to develop diabetes. It would be ideal to screen for diabetes to allow treatment early in the disease process. The natural history of diabetes in persons with Turner syndrome is not well understood. Likewise, the optimal screening approach is not known. To help address this knowledge gap, Dr. Pinnaro from our division led a team that compared results between multiple types of screening tests for diabetes assessed concurrently in persons with Turner syndrome. The screening tests compared were fasting plasma glucose, oral glucose tolerance test, and hemoglobin A1c. The results showed only partial concordance between the different tests. Interpreted conservatively, the data suggest that various hemoglobin A1c thresholds could be used to indicate need for closer evaluation for diabetes. The results are published in the journal Hormone Research in Paediatrics as an article entitled “Screening for Turner syndrome-associated hyperglycemia: Evaluating hemoglobin A1c and fasting blood glucose”. Study authors from our division were Drs. Pinnaro, Parra Villasmil, and Norris. The article’s Pubmed abstract can be found at this link.

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