Objective: To describe the characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes diagnosed before age 40 (early-onset type 2 diabetes) identified in a nation-wide, population-based study.
Materials and methods: The survey was done in Mexico during 2006. Medical history, anthropometric and biochemical measurements were obtained in every subject.
Results: Cases diagnosed before (n=181) and after age 40 (n=659) were included. Early-onset type 2 diabetes was present in 13.1% of the previously diagnosed, 30.3% of the cases identified during the survey and 21.5% of the whole population with diabetes. These individuals had a greater prevalence of obesity and hypertriglyceridemia compared to the cases diagnosed after age 40.
Conclusions: Early-onset type 2 diabetes was present in 21.5 % of patients with type 2 diabetes in Mexico. Close to 70% of them were obese or overweight and had the clinical profile of the metabolic syndrome.