Diabetic kidney disease in children and adolescents

Diabetes, more frequently type 1, but increasingly also type 2, commonly occurs in childhood. While more advanced diabetic kidney disease (DKD), e.g., loss of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), does not occur until adulthood, kidney biopsies show DKD structural changes as early as 1.5-5 years after the onset of type 1 diabetes. Earliest clinical sign of DKD, increased urine albumin excretion, commonly appears during childhood and adolescence and presents an important opportunity to detect and intervene in early DKD, perhaps more successfully than later in the disease course. Longitudinal studies of type 1 diabetes have enriched our understanding of the DKD natural history and modifiable risk factors for DKD progression. These studies have also shown that the presence of DKD marks a subset of people with diabetes who are at the highest risk of early mortality, supporting an enhanced focus on DKD detection, prevention, and treatment. Early studies suggest that youth-onset type 2 diabetes is associated with a higher prevalence of comorbidities and risk factors and follows a more aggressive natural history. A deeper understanding of the natural history, risk factors, underlying mechanisms and therapeutic options for DKD in young-onset type 2 diabetes awaits further studies.