Prevalence and clinical profile of maturity onset diabetes of the young among people with diabetes attending a tertiary care centre

Background: Maturity onset diabetes of young (MODY) is considered to be the most underdiagnosed condition. The correct diagnosis of MODY has a definite bearing on the outcome and clinical course of the disease. We aim to determine the prevalence and clinical profile of MODY among young diabetic patients attending at Department of Endocrinology, a tertiary care institute in North India. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study involving all consecutive consenting patients with diabetes and age of onset ≤35 years. A total of 1,094 patients were included in this study, of whom 858 were having age of onset of diabetes 0.6 ng/mL were subjected to the Ala98 Val polymorphism (SNP) in hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 1α gene. Results: The prevalence of MODY among the study cohort as per clinical criteria was found to be 7.7%. Males constituted the majority of patients (male vs female, 56% vs. 44%; P < 0.001). The patients with MODY were younger (p < 0.001), leaner (p < 0.001), had younger age at onset of diabetes mellitus (p < 0.001), and lower frequency of features of insulin resistance in the form of skin tags and acanthosis nigricans. Among the 40 patients who were subjected to Ala98Val polymorphism of HNF1α gene (MODY 3), the mutant genotype was seen in 20 (50%) patients. Conclusion: We report a higher prevalence of MODY in our young diabetic patients. A high index of suspicion is required to diagnose MODY as misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment may have a significant impact on quality-of-life (QOL) with increased cost and unnecessary treatment with insulin.