Type 2 diabetes before age 20 leads to a high
risk of kidney disease and death by middle age,
a significant finding because worldwide obesity
is exposing more children to the disease, researchers
said.
In the United States so-called adult onset or
type 2 diabetes will be more prevalent than juvenile
or type 1 diabetes in children within 10 years,
the study from the National
Institutes of Health said.
The findings reported in this week's
Journal of the American Medical Association
were based on a study of more than 1,800 U.S.
Pima Indians between 1965 and 2002. Some of those
in the study developed diabetes before age 20
while others came down with it between the ages
of 20 and 55.
The study found that those who developed the
disease earlier had end-stage kidney disease in
their middle years at a rate that was up to eight
times higher than the older group. In addition
their death rate was 2 times higher than the older
group.
The younger group is harder hit, the report said,
because the disease has more time to be destructive.
And while youth appears to provide some protection
against the vision loss that is a complication
of diabetes, it does not stop kidney damage, which
can also lead to heart disease.
The findings "may heave a significant economic
and public health impact because individuals with
youth-onset diabetes mellitus who develop diabetic
kidney disease have a high morbidity during their
peak productive years and may require increased
and sustained health services," the study concluded.
The current increase in obesity in children and
adolescents in many parts of the world had led
to a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes in those
groups, the study said.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which
the immune system attacks the cells that produce
insulin. It is treated by insulin replacement,
and can affect both children and adults, though
it is commonly called "juvenile."
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body can't make
enough insulin or properly use what it has, and
it can be treated with diet, exercise, weight
loss and insulin replacement. Though called "adult
onset" it increasingly affects older children
and adolescents and can account for 90 percent
of all diabetes cases in some countries.
