Fasting levels of glucagon are known to be elevated in youth and adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Children and adolescents with obesity were previously reported to show increasing fasting and post-glucose-challenge hyperglucagonemia across the spectrum of glucose tolerance, while no data are available in those with impaired fasting glucose (IFG).
Individuals from the Beta-JUDO study population (Uppsala and Salzburg 2010–2016) (n=101, age 13.3 ± 2.8, m/f =50/51) were included (90 with overweight or obesity, 11 with normal weight). Standardized OGTT were performed and plasma glucose, glucagon and insulin concentrations assessed at baseline, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. Patients were grouped according to their glycemic state in six groups with normal glucose metabolism (NGM) and normal weight (NG-NW), NGM with obesity or overweight (NG-O), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), IGT+IFG and T2D, and in two groups with NGM and impaired glucose metabolism (IGM), for statistical analysis.
Glucagon concentrations were elevated in young normoglycemic individuals with overweight or obesity (NG-O) compared to normoglycemic individuals with normal weight. Glucagon levels, fasting and dynamic, increased with progressing glycemic deterioration, except in IFG, where levels were comparable to those in NG-O. All glycemic groups showed an overall suppression of glucagon during OGTT. An initial increase of glucagon could be observed in T2D. In T2D, glucagon showed a strong direct linear correlation with plasma glucose levels during OGTT. Glucagon in adolescents, as in adults, may play a role in the disease progression of T2D.