Rates of
diabetes in U.S. children have jumped sharply in just eight
years, according to new research.The prevalence of type 1
diabetes increased 21 percent between 2001 and 2009. At the
same time, rates of type 2 diabetes rose 30.5 percent, the
study found. These increases affected both boys and girls,
and nearly all racial groups, the researchers noted. The
reasons behind the increases aren't entirely clear, said
lead researcher. "While we do not completely understand the
reasons for this increase, since the causes of type 1
diabetes are still unclear, it is likely that something has
changed in our environment, both in the U.S. and elsewhere
in the world, causing more youth to develop the disease,
maybe at increasingly younger ages," she said. Several
reasons for the increase in type 2 diabetes are possible,
she said. "Most likely is the obesity epidemic, but also the
long-term effects of diabetes and obesity during pregnancy,
which have also increased over time," she noted. This report
shows the increasingly important public health burden that
pediatric diabetes represents, she pointed out. "It also
highlights the facts that all racial/ethnic groups are
affected by both major forms of diabetes," she said. In type
1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, the hormone
needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into
energy. In type 2 diabetes, the body does not use insulin
properly. This is called insulin resistance. At first, the
pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. But over
time, it isn't able to keep up and can't make enough insulin
to keep blood sugar at normal levels. For the study,
research team collected data on more than 3 million children
and adolescents. When looking for type 1 diabetes, the
researchers included people aged 19 years and younger. For
type 2, the researchers limited the age range to 10 through
19 years. The incidence of type 2 in children younger than
10 was too low to provide statistically significant numbers,
according to the report. The data came from five centers
located in California, Colorado, Ohio, South Carolina, and
Washington state, as well as from some American Indian
reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. In 2001, type 1
diabetes had been diagnosed in just under 5,000 youngsters
from a group of more than 3 million youth. By 2009, that
number rose to almost 6,700, an increase of 21 percent,
according to the study authors. The only groups that didn't
see an increase in type 1 diabetes were children from 0 to 4
years old, and American Indian children, the study revealed.
For type 2, the researchers looked at a group of almost 2
million children. In 2001, 588 children and teens had been
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. By 2009, 819 kids and teens
had type 2, a jump of 30.5 percent, the researchers found.
The only ethnic groups that didn't see an increase in type 2
were American Indians and Asian Pacific Islanders.
"Historically, type 1 diabetes has been considered a disease
that affects primarily white youth; however, our findings
highlight the increasing burden of type 1 diabetes
experienced by youth of minority racial/ethnic groups as
well," the authors wrote. The increase for both types of
diabetes was seen among boys and girls and among whites,
blacks and Hispanics. The biggest increase in both types of
diabetes was among those 15 through 19 years of age, the
researchers noted.
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