Youth-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) is an increasingly prevalent and aggressive condition, associated with earlier and higher rates of cardiometabolic disease, microvascular complications and mental health burden.
This advanced course equips GPs to recognise early risk factors and presentations, differentiate youth-onset T2D from other causes of hyperglycaemia, and initiate timely referral. The course explores comorbidity assessment, family-based risk and intergenerational influences, and the GP’s ongoing role within the multidisciplinary care team. Participants will review current management pathways and recommendations for patients who present in their youth, as well as those who transition to, or present in early adulthood.
Learning outcomes
This advanced course provides a practical update on how youth-onset T2D presents, how it differs from adult‑onset disease, and why early recognition is critical.
Presenters
A/Prof Peña is a paediatric endocrinologist and clinical academic at Adelaide University and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Her research focuses on paediatric obesity and its complications, particularly type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome, with a strong emphasis on evidence-based guideline development and translation to clinical practice.
Dr South is both a GP and dietitian with over 30 years’ healthcare experience. She has a specific interest in metabolic health, serves as Chair of the RACGP Obesity Management Specific Interest Group, and is a member of the RACGP Diabetes Specific Interest Group. She brings clinical, multidisciplinary, and lived experience to advancing metabolic health care and education in general practice.
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