I have had type 2 diabetes for a lot of years, and my four year old daughter had a blood sugar of 138 mg/dl [7.7 mmol/L]. The doctor said this was a little high, but not too many children her age have this type of diabetes. However, I am concerned that she too has diabetes. Do I need to be concerned about my daughter’s blood sugar level being this high? Should I insist on more testing?

A blood sugar of 138 mg/dl [7.7 mmol/L] is a little high for a fasting level and well within normal limits for a random one. In a four year old, the stress of the test would almost certainly account for this sort of figure.

In view of your own history, however, I would ask the pediatrician to check the weight percentile on the growth chart. If your daughter is significantly overweight, I would not only get advice on diet and exercise but retest her fasting blood sugar if she has some intercurrent infection or in any case every three or four months because children of this age may indeed get type 2 diabetes.

DOB

[Editor’s comment: See symptoms of diabetes and Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes Guidelines.

SS]