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LOCAL RESEARCH CLINIC AWARDED $3 MILLION FOR PHASE II OF DIABETES STUDY
Pacific Health Research Institute Leading Effort to Understand Diabetes in Hawaii’s Youth
Honolulu, Hawaii (Oct. 3, 2005) -- The Honolulu-based Pacific Health Research Institute (PHRI) has been awarded $3 million to complete Phase II of the Hawaii component of a nationwide study on diabetes in children.
The study, “SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth,”was begun in 2000 and is the first population-based study in the United States that is assessing the burden of diabetes in youth of all major race/ethnicities. SEARCH is funded by the
Centers for Disease Control with support from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases. PHRI is leading the SEARCH study to understand diabetes in Hawaii’s youth through collaboration with HMSA, Kaiser and Med-Quest.
“With diabetes increasing at unprecedented rates among adults both in the United States and throughout the world, initial reports suggest a rise globally in Type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents,” says Beatriz L. Rodriguez, MD, PhD, who is the principal investigator of the PHRI and a professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
"An increase in Type 2 diabetes in young people means that we are going to have more people – children and adults – with diabetes and they will have it for a longer time, which increases the rate of severe complications like blindness, renal failure, and amputations,” she explains. “The SEARCH study is helping us to increase our understanding of this disease, and may help us find ways to increase prevention and provide better treatment.”
Dr. Rodriquez says that almost 16 million people in America are now estimated to have diabetes. It is the third most common severe chronic disease of childhood and, based on SEARCH findings, she says researchers estimate that there are approximately 154,000 children with diabetes in the US.
“In the State of Hawaii, there are approximately 50 new cases of diabetes each year.”
During Phase I of the SEARCH study in Hawaii, the most common form of diabetes in youth was found to be Type 1A autoimmune diabetes, in which the immune system attacks cells in the pancreas that produce insulin and destroys
them. This finding was consistent with national results. In addition, SEARCH found that Type 2 diabetes—in which the body cannot use insulin well (a condition called insulin resistance)—occurs very rarely under the age of 10. Type 2 diabetes was found in youth of all race/ethnicities, but was more common in ethnic minorities including Asian Pacific Islanders. Ninety percent of the children with Type 2 diabetes were overweight.
In children and youth (10-19 years) about 1 in 750 Asian/Pacific Islanders has diabetes. Among Asian/Pacific Islanders, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is about 3 times higher compared to non-Hispanic whites.
More youth with diabetes are overweight or at risk of overweight compared to non-diabetic youth, and minority youth have a higher prevalence of overweight than non-Hispanic white youth. Nutritional intake in adolescents with diabetes was found to be very poor and did not follow current recommendations for a healthy diet.
Since there is no uniform standard to differentiate the Types of childhood diabetes, Dr. Rodriguez says this study offers unique opportunities to identify and test methods to correctly classify Types of childhood diabetes. In addition, the collection of many childhood diabetes cases will allow further clinical, epidemiologic, health care, and therapeutic research into what CDC scientists see as a major emerging public health problem. Researchers expect the SEARCH study will help them:
• Learn how many children and youth under the age of 20 have diabetes
• Identify significant changes in the incidence of diabetes over time
• Study how Type 1 diabetes (Juvenile diabetes or insulin dependant diabetes) is different from Type 2 diabetes (Adult onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes)
• Learn more about the complications of diabetes in children and youth
• Investigate the Types of care and medical treatment that these children receive, and
• Learn more about how diabetes affects the lives of young people
PHRI is conducting the SEARCH study in collaboration with five other clinical centers located in California, Colorado, Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington. Together, they have identified over 10,000 children and youth diagnosed with diabetes, and have invited them to participate in this study. About 7,600 cases have provided information, and about 4,600 have been seen.
The SEARCH study examination includes an interview, physical examination, blood draw, and questionnaire. The interview collects information on medical history, use of medications, processes of care, socioeconomic status, determinants of health, family history of diabetes, and quality of life. In youth aged 10 years and older, standardized questionnaires are used to assess physical activity, smoking habits, diabetes-related counseling, diet and eating disorders, and depression. The physical examination includes blood pressure, height, weight, body measurement and examination for disease associated with insulin resistance as well as a variety of other health factors.
Located in Honolulu, the PHRI is the largest independent life sciences research institute in Hawaii. Research includes genetic and epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and health services research, with a focus on cancer, diabetes, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, neurodegenerative disorders, longevity, hypertension, and heart disease, among others. The PHRI was founded in 1960 and has an annual operating budget of about $11 million. Its funding comes mainly from the Federal government, with additional support from foundations and private industry. Most of PHRI’s research is conducted through collaborations with research centers through Hawaii, the Pacific, Asia and the mainland U.S.