Child Opportunity Index and clinical characteristics at diabetes diagnosis in youth: type 1 diabetes versus type 2 diabetes

Introduction Among youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D), longitudinal poor glycemic control is associated with adverse socioeconomic conditions at the neighborhood level. Child Opportunity Index (COI), which encompasses measures of education, health, environment, social, and economic factors, is associated with obesity in youth but has not been evaluated in youth with new-onset T1D or type 2 diabetes (T2D). We hypothesized that lower COI would be associated with adverse clinical outcomes at diabetes diagnosis, and due to differing risk factors and pathophysiology, that youth with new-onset T2D would have lower COI than youth with T1D. Research design and methods Retrospective cohort of youth with new-onset diabetes admitted to a large academic pediatric hospital. COI was compared by diabetes type using t-tests and Chi(2) tests. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between COI and clinical characteristics, stratified by diabetes type and adjusted for age and sex. Results The cohort (n=484) differed in race and age by diabetes type (T1D: n=389; 10.0% black, 81.2% white; age 9.6 +/- 0.2 years; T2D: n=95; 44.2% black, 48.4% white; age 14.8 +/- 0.3 years). Youth with T2D had lower COI (p<0.001). Low COI was associated with diabetic ketoacidosis in T1D and T2D. Black youth with low COI had the highest hemoglobin A1c among youth with T2D and the highest obesity prevalence among youth with T1D. Conclusions COI is associated with differing characteristics at diagnosis in youth-onset T1D and T2D but is worse among youth with T2D overall. These findings underscore the need to address socioeconomic adversity when designing interventions to reduce T2D risk and to improve outcomes at diabetes diagnosis in youth.