Government researchers recently announced that they found a higher percentage of U.S. teens with “pre-diabetes” and type 2 diabetes over the past few years.
Diabetes is a condition where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t know how to use it correctly. Insulin helps glucose migrate to cells, where it is used for energy. Those who have conditions of pre-diabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels and can have an increased risk of developing full blown type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can be dangerous as it is tied to a higher risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. Generally, it is found more so in middle-aged and older adults. In the U.S., there are about 26 million people who are estimated to have diabetes, the majority of which are type 2. 11 million of those cases are 65 years old and up
“Even at borderline-high levels of blood pressure and cholesterol, and especially with multiple risk factors, you’re probably getting some… organ damage already,” explained Dr. Elaine M. Urbina, director of preventive cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and unaffiliated with the study, in an article by CNN.
While the pre-diabetes percentage has doubled, obesity rates decreased between 1999 and 2008 with rates generally between 18 and 20 percent over the past few years. Rates of high blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol showed no change. However, this is not the case for pre-diabetes; nine percent of teens showed signs of pre-diabetes between 1999 and 2000, and that number increased to 23 percent between 2007 and 2008. This national survey data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reported in an issue of the journal Pediatrics.
“That was unexpected, especially since obesity has been leveling off,” lead researcher Ashleigh May of the CDC told Reuters Health. “The question of why that is will require more research.”
According to May, the study did not separate pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, so there is no clear indication of the number of cases that were related to type 2 diabetes rather than pre-diabetes. In the past, type 2 diabetes in children was a rare occurrence but, with the rise of obesity over the past years, more kids have been diagnosed with type 2 or pre-diabetes. Between 2002 and 2005, the CDC has estimated that the annual rate of new diabetes diagnoses was 8.5 for every 100,000 kids between the ages of 10 and 19. The higher blood sugar levels may not affect teenagers immediately, but it can have a toll on them as they grow older and have increased risk of suffering heart attacks or strokes. In the data, boys were shown to be more prone to risk factors than girls; similarly, older children showed to have more risk factors than younger children.
“It’s promising that we didn’t see a rise in obesity or hypertension or (high LDL),” May said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”
Between 1999 and 2008, the study by the CDC conducted physical exams and blood tests from a sample of around 3,400 teenagers. During those years, obesity rates remained consistent; in 2008, 20 percent were obese and 15 percent of kids were overweight. By 2008, 20 percent of teens reported pre-hypertension, where their blood pressure was higher than normal but not high enough to be considered hypertension. The same year, six percent of teens had high LDL cholesterol levels and 13 percent were considered border-line. These figures were similar to ones reported ten years earlier and only the pre-diabetes rate had changed.
Even though pre-diabetes/diabetes and other heart risk factors were found predominantly in overweight and obese kids, normal-weight peers were also found to be at risk. According other study, in the group of thinner kids, 37 percent showed at least one heart risk factor.
“All kids can benefit from a healthy lifestyle,” May explained in the Reuters Health article.
Overall, the study shows the importance of eating healthy and participating in exercise to manage pre-diabetes. There are a number of things that the community can do to help children. May encourages parents to act as role models, eating healthy foods and engaging in exercise. They should also stock their kitchen with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains rather than junk food.
“To get ahead of this problem, we have to be incredibly aggressive and look at children and adolescents and say you have to make time for physical activity,” noted Dr. Larry Deeb, pediatric endocrinologist as well as former president of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association, in a USA Today article.
Similarly, pediatricians are recommended to follow the guidelines on obesity screenings and offer behavioral counseling to families whose children are diagnosed as overweight or obese.
“Pediatricians and other healthcare providers who work with adolescents need to be aware of, and follow through with, screening guidelines and recommendations for obesity and also other cardiovascular risk factors, and suggest appropriate behavioral interventions,” remarked May in the CNN article.
Regarding the study, there are a few stated limitations. Notably, pre-diabetes and diabetes were determined with a single blood sugar measurement. This could be less reliable in kids than in adults.
Source: Connie K. Ho for RedOrbit.com
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