Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a new dataset aimed at advancing research into youth diabetes and prediabetes. The dataset, which draws on data from nearly 20 years of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), is now accessible through a new online tool called the Prediabetes/diabetes in Youth ONline Dashboard (POND). This resource is expected to provide valuable insights into the growing issue of diabetes among young people.
The study, published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, compiles data from 15,149 youths aged 12 to 19, covering a wide range of factors including sociodemographic background, health status, diet, and lifestyle behaviors. POND allows researchers, healthcare professionals, and the general public to explore these factors and better understand what might contribute to the risk of diabetes in young people.
Dr. Nita Vangeepuram, a pediatrician and researcher at Mount Sinai, emphasized the potential impact of this work. “This dataset gives us a clearer picture of the risks young people face when it comes to diabetes and prediabetes. It’s a tool that can help us develop more effective interventions that really meet the needs of these kids,” she said.
Gaurav Pandey, PhD, a co-senior author of the study, spoke to the importance of making this data available to the wider research community. “Having access to such detailed and comprehensive data is a big step forward. It opens up new possibilities for research, particularly using advanced methods like machine learning, to find patterns that we haven’t been able to see before,” Pandey explained.
The development of POND was led by Yan Chak Li and Catherine McDonough from Mount Sinai, who aimed to make health data more accessible and actionable. By allowing users to engage with this dataset directly, POND is expected to become a critical resource in efforts to better understand and address youth diabetes.
Bian Liu, PhD, another co-senior author, pointed out that the dataset has already uncovered both well-known and new factors linked to diabetes in young people. “Our findings suggest there’s a lot more to learn about what puts young people at risk for diabetes, and this dataset is just the beginning. We hope it will spark more research and help us find better ways to prevent this condition in the future,” Liu said.
As diabetes continues to rise among young people worldwide, this research comes at a crucial time. The Mount Sinai team hopes that by sharing their work through POND, they can help drive new discoveries and, ultimately, better outcomes for young people facing this growing health challenge.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is titled “A Comprehensive Youth Diabetes Epidemiological Dataset and Web Portal: Resource Development and Case Studies.” The POND web portal is available for public access at POND Portal.