Type 1 Diabetes Rate Among Young Children Grew 70 Percent Over 2 Decades

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diabeticFrom Your Health Journal…..”So much as been in the news regarding the rise of obesity in children, and how so many children have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, formally known as adult onset diabetes – since it was visible mostly in adults. There is a strong correlation between type 2 diabetes and obesity. Ninety-five percent of diagnosed diabetes is usually type 2. Today, I found a great story from On Central, a Southern California Public Radio station. The article was written by José Martinez entitled, Type 1 Diabetes Rate Among Young Children Grew 70 Percent Over 2 Decades. Type 1 diabetes is what happens when little to no insulin is produced, as the pancreas stops creating it. Insulin is what is needed to deliver glucose (energy) through the cells of the body. Experts still aren’t sure what causes it, although it’s most often diagnosed in children, teenagers or young adults – it used to be called juvenile diabetes. But now, research is suggesting that type 1 diabetes is on the rise among children. So, it will be interesting to see further research into this matter. Please visit the On Central web site (link provided below) to read the complete article.”

From the article…..

Local health care providers say type 2 diabetes is way more prevalent than the type 1 variety in South Los Angeles – that’s true for both adults and children.

In fact, that seems to be true across the board: Up to 95 percent of all diagnosed diabetes cases are type 2.

Obesity is the primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes, which can develop when the body becomes resistant to insulin. Genetics also play a role in a person’s development of the disease.

Type 1, on the other hand, is what happens when little to no insulin is produced. Experts still aren’t sure what causes it, although it’s most often diagnosed in children, teenagers or young adults.

With child obesity on the rise, doctors knew that rising rates of type 2 diabetes among youngsters would be close behind. That problem is especially acute in South L.A., where the rates of child obesity are among the county’s highest. The trend is so worrisome that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently released the first official guidelines – ever – regarding how to treat the disease in children.

But now researchers on the East Coast are seeing a similar pattern with type 1 diabetes among children: A new study appearing in Diabetes Care found that incidence of the disease in very young children from Philadephia – those under the age of five – increased by a whopping 70 percent between 1985 and 2004.

To read the complete article…..Click here