The role of family history of diabetes as a predictor of insulin activity in a sample of diverse, normal weight children

•Family history could be a useful screening tool for diabetes risk in normal weight children•Family history of diabetes significantly predicts fasting insulin levels in children•Normal weight children with family history of diabetes have higher fasting insulin•Identifying abnormal insulin levels before diabetes develops could have preventative effects This study aimed to examine the relationship between family history of type 2 diabetes and insulin activity in a diverse sample of normal weight children. Measures of fasting insulin, insulin sensitivity and acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg) were obtained from a multiethnic sample of normal weight children ages 7-12 years (n=199). Multiple linear regression was used to determine the effect of family history of type 2 diabetes on the variables of interest. All models were adjusted by age, sex, pubertal status, ethnicity, waist circumference and total grams of carbs. Family history of type 2 diabetes was a significant predictor of fasting insulin (p=0.04). There were no significant differences in age, sex, ethnicity, BMI percentile, pubertal stage, or body composition between children with and without a family history of diabetes. Family history of diabetes is a significant predictor of fasting insulin in a cross-sectional group of children who are normal weight. These results contribute to the further understanding of the relationship between family history and type 2 diabetes risk, which could be utilized to develop earlier detection of dysglycemia and unique disease prevention strategies for at-risk children.