Stuttering teens at higher risk of early-onset T2D

An association has been observed between stuttering in adolescence and an increased risk for early-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) among men, reports a study.

A total of 2,193,855 adolescents aged 16–20 years who were assessed for military service between 1980 and 2013 were included in this nationwide population-based study. A speech-language pathologist confirmed the diagnosis of stuttering in adolescence.

The investigators determined T2D status for each participant as of 31 December 2016 using linkage to the Israeli National Diabetes Registry and analysed associations using regression models adjusted for socioeconomic variables, cognitive performance, coexisting morbidities, and adolescent body mass index. Analysis was stratified by sex (p_interaction=0.035).

T2D developed in 3.7 percent (n=162) of 4,443 adolescent men with stuttering, which was higher than the 2.1 percent in 25,678 men without stuttering (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.3, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.1–1.6).

The association stayed even when unaffected brothers of men with stuttering were used as reference (aOR, 1.5, 95 percent CI, 1.01–2.2) or when the analysis included only those with unimpaired health at baseline (aOR, 1.4, 95 percent CI, 1.1–1.7). Of note, this association was more pronounced in later birth cohorts, with an aOR of 1.4 (95 percent CI, 1.4–4.1) for cases of T2D before the age of 40 years.

In 503 adolescent women with stuttering, only 1.4 percent (n=7) developed T2D, slightly higher than the 1.1 percent in 10,139 women without stuttering (OR, 2.03, 95 percent CI, 0.48–2.20).