Delayed Puberty in Boys Linked to Higher Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Study

A new study study presented at a joint meeting of the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and the European Society of Endocrinology, boys who experience delayed puberty are 2.5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in early adulthood. This increased risk is independent of weight and socioeconomic status, highlighting pubertal timing as a key factor in long-term metabolic health.

Type 2 diabetes affects more than 90% of diabetics and is influenced by genetic, environmental, demographic, and socioeconomic variables. Previously known as adult-onset diabetes, type 2 diabetes often strikes individuals 45 years of age or older, but it is also increasingly being diagnosed in children, teenagers, and young adults, and researchers are looking at the different risk factors. Uncertainty surrounds the association between male delayed puberty and adult-onset type 2 diabetes. Therefore, Orit Pinhas-Hamiel and colleagues looked at the relationship between the chance of acquiring type 2 diabetes in early adulthood and delayed puberty throughout adolescence.

Nearly, 9,64,108 Israeli teenage boys (mean age 17.3 years) who were screened before military enlistment between 1992 and 2015 and monitored until December 31, 2019, were the subjects of this population-based study conducted nationally. Board-designated specialists used laboratory testing and physical examination to diagnose delayed puberty. The Israeli National Diabetes Registry was connected to the data. We used Cox proportional hazard models.