Diabetes in children is becoming a bigger problem worldwide, a recent study warns.
This study was published on July 3 in JAMA Pediatrics, a trusted journal that doctors read.
Who’s Behind the Numbers?
The study was led by Kexin Zhang, a researcher from the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University in China. Zhang and his team took a deep look at the growth of childhood diabetes from 1990 to 2019.
The Big Picture: Millions of Kids, Hundreds of Countries
The team looked at data from 1.4 million children, from newborns to 14-year-olds, across 204 different countries. That’s a lot of kids and a lot of countries!
The Cold, Hard Facts: Childhood Diabetes on the Rise
Their findings were pretty alarming. The number of children with diabetes went up by almost 40% between 1990 and 2019.
The rate of new cases went up from 9.31 to 11.61 for every 100,000 kids. Thankfully, the death rate linked to diabetes fell from 0.38 to 0.28 per 100,000 kids.
Where is it Worst? Mapping Diabetes Around the World
Kids in the poorest parts of the world had the highest death rate from diabetes in 2019. The biggest jump in new diabetes cases happened in North Africa and the Middle East.
What’s Causing this Rise? Hunting for Risk Factors
The study found several things that might be causing the increase. These include risks from the environment or work, extreme temperatures (either too hot or too cold).
Confronting the Diabetes Challenge: Next Steps
The study authors highlight that although death rates have fallen, the number of kids suffering from diabetes, especially in poorer areas, is still high.
They call diabetes in children a “major health issue” and stress that understanding the size of this problem is important for making plans to prevent and treat the disease.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies that pomace olive oil could help lower blood cholesterol, and honey could help control blood sugar.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that blueberries strongly benefit people with metabolic syndrome, and results showing eggs in a plant-based diet may benefit people with type 2 diabetes.
The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics.
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