Environmental triggers for rise in diabetes?!

[Guest guest]

This certainly is no surprise to me!!

http://www.parade.com/health/2009/11/08-troubling-trend-in-diabetes.html

Indeed, researchers are looking into various environmental triggers for the rise

in cases of diabetes, although at this point no definitive culprits have been

identified.

A Troubling Trend in Diabetes

by Dr. Ranit Mishori

published: 11/08/2009

Most reports about diabetes in children focus on the increase in the number of

kids diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes—the condition related to being overweight

or obese. But while Type 2 diabetes is grabbing the headlines, a new study

suggests we should not forget about a more severe form of diabetes: Type 1,

formerly called juvenile diabetes.

A recent study in the British medical journal The Lancet shows that the number

of new cases of Type 1 diabetes in European children is increasing steadily and

beyond expectations. An analysis of diabetes registries in 17 European countries

showed that Type 1 diabetes in children under 15 is increasing by about 4% a

year, with higher rates of increase in the younger age groups (5.4% for those up

to age 4, and 4.3% for those ages 5 to 9). Girls showed higher rates of increase

in the younger age groups than boys.

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The incidence of new cases in those under age 5, the authors reported, is

expected to double by 2020.

Similar trends are occurring in the U.S., according to Dr. Dana Dabelea of the

University of Colorado in Denver. The data suggest “that the incidence of Type

1 diabetes may be increasing even faster than before,â€

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Indeed, researchers are looking into various environmental triggers for the rise

in cases of diabetes, although at this point no definitive culprits have been

identified.

In Type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin, the hormone responsible

for regulating blood-sugar levels. High levels can cause severe complications

later in life, affecting the eyes, heart, kidneys, and other organs.

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The warning signs for Type 1 diabetes include extreme hunger or thirst,

urinating frequently, losing weight unexpectedly, fatigue, blurry vision, and,

in girls, having frequent genital yeast infections.

Children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin—either by

injection or via specialized pens, infusers, or pumps. They also must learn how

to check their blood-sugar levels several times a day. Managing diabetes can be

a challenge for kids of any age and for their families, but advances in insulin

delivery and blood-sugar monitoring are making it easier for children to lead

normal and healthy lives.