Kids' Diabetes Rates Up Dramatically in 8 Years, Study Finds
Kids' Diabetes Rates Up Dramatically in 8 Years, Study Finds
Increase in type 1 diabetes especially baffling to experts
SATURDAY, May 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- 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 Dr. Dana Dabelea, the associate dean for faculty at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora.
"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, Dabelea 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, Dabelea pointed out. "It also highlights the facts that all racial/ethnic groups are affected by both major forms of diabetes," she said.
The report was scheduled to be published May 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the May 3 presentation of the study findings at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
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, Dabelea's 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.
Kids' Diabetes Rates Up Dramatically in 8 Years
Increase in type 1 diabetes especially baffling to experts
SATURDAY, May 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- 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 Dr. Dana Dabelea, the associate dean for faculty at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora.
"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, Dabelea 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, Dabelea pointed out. "It also highlights the facts that all racial/ethnic groups are affected by both major forms of diabetes," she said.
The report was scheduled to be published May 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the May 3 presentation of the study findings at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada.
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, Dabelea's 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.