Clinical and Chemical Diabetes in Offspring of Diabetic Couples

Abstract

A total of 678 glucose tolerance tests (oral glucose, cortisone-primed oral glucose, intravenous glucose and intravenous tolbutamide tests) were performed upon 155 of 274 offspring from 80 conjugal diabetic parents. The diabetic status of the untested offspring was determined by communication with parent or sibling. Administration of multiple tests (of various types) or repeated oral glucose tolerance tests detected a higher frequency of chemical diabetes than that obtained after a single test. The overall frequency of chemical diabetes (41 to 62 per cent, depending on the age and weight of the offspring) was considerably higher than that of overt diabetes (8.8 per cent). The oral glucose tolerance test appeared to be as sensitive as any other glucose tolerance test in detecting chemical diabetes. In such persons, many of whom were nonobese teen-agers and young adults, abnormal tests were frequently followed by one or more normal tests, as were normal tests followed by abnormal tests in no predictable sequence.