Print

Mail

wiki links

Child diabetes may increase, study finds

A previously undocumented incidence of Type 2 diabetes among children in Taiwan could be proof of a worldwide trend in a disease thought to be mainly an adult problem, researchers said on Tuesday.

Type 2, as opposed to juvenile diabetes, is usually linked to being overweight, and recent reports have indicated childhood obesity is a growing health problem around the world.

A 1999 urine test screening involving more than 2.8 million Taiwanese children aged six to 18 found that more than 15,000 tested positive for diabetes.

Researchers at National Taiwan University estimated from the data that the ratio of Type 2 to juvenile diabetes was six to one.

Those with Type 2 were more obese, had higher cholesterol levels, higher blood pressure and a family history of diabetes, said the report, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Type 2 diabetes usually develops later in life, but "a disturbing trend of increasing prevalence ... in children has been noted worldwide in recent years," the report said.

"To our knowledge, the high rate of Type 2 ... in this young population has never been noted before in Taiwan. Therefore, the results of this study will have significant public health ramifications," the authors said.

They did not describe what cultural or other changes in the country might have contributed to the problem there.

"The World Health Organization has estimated that the recent increase ... has come mainly from developing countries, especially in Asia," the study said.

Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which the pancreas produces insufficient or no insulin, robbing the body of the hormone used to absorb glucose into cells for energy and into the liver and fat cells for storage.

Juvenile diabetes, the most severe form, usually develops between the ages of 10 and 16 when the pancreas stops producing enough insulin.

Type 2 usually develops after age 40, is related to obesity and can often be controlled by diet and weight reduction.

Causes of Type 2 diabetes are still a mystery, though fat may block the action of insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Whether the Taiwanese children diagnosed with Type 2 will outgrow the problem as they move into adulthood remains to be seen, the study said.
This story has been viewed 2047 times.