Diabetes Care 2024;47(Suppl. 1):S258–S281 | https://doi.org/10.2337/dc24-S014
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) “Standards of Care in Diabetes” includes the ADA’s current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, an interprofessional expert committee, are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA’s clinical practice recommendations and a full list of Professional Practice Committee members, please refer to Introduction and Methodology. Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional.diabetes.org/SOC.
The management of diabetes in children and adolescents (individuals <18 years of age) cannot simply be derived from care routinely provided to adults with diabetes. The epidemiology, pathophysiology, developmental considerations, and response to therapy in pediatric diabetes are often different from those of adult diabetes. There are also differences in recommended care for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and other forms of pediatric diabetes. This section is divided into two major parts: the first part addresses care for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, and the second part addresses care for children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes. Monogenic diabetes (neonatal diabetes and maturity-onset diabetes of the young [MODY]) and cystic fibrosis–related diabetes, which are often present in youth, are discussed in Section 2, “Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes.” Table 14.1A and Table 14.1B provide an overview of the recommendations for screening and treatment of complications and related conditions in pediatric type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, respectively. In addition to comprehensive diabetes care, youth with diabetes should receive age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate pediatric care, including immunizations as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1). To ensure continuity of care as an adolescent with diabetes becomes an adult, guidance is provided at the end of this section on the transition from pediatric to adult diabetes care.
Due to the nature of pediatric clinical research, the recommendations for children and adolescents with diabetes are less likely to be based on clinical trial evidence. However, expert opinion and a review of available and relevant experimental data are summarized in the American Diabetes Association (ADA) position statements “Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents” (2) and “Evaluation and Management of Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes” (3). Finally, other sections in the Standards of Care may have recommendations that apply to youth with diabetes and are referenced in the narrative of this section.
