| High rates of diabetes in Asian
children in Britain
LONDON (Reuters) - South Asian children in Britain have more than
13 times the rate of type 2 diabetes as other youngsters, according
to a new survey published on Tuesday.
The illness used to be considered an adult disease but rising levels
of childhood obesity mean more children are developing the disease.
"Type 2 diabetes is 13.5 times more common in South Asian
children than in white children," said Dr Timothy Barrett of
Birmingham Children's Hospital in England.
Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the illness,
results from the body's inability to respond to the action of insulin
produced by the pancreas. It is strongly linked to being overweight
or obese.
In a report in Archives of Disease in Childhood, Barrett and his
colleagues collected data on the illness in children up to 16 years
old from 228 diabetes centers in Britain.
Children with the disease were about 13 years old when they were
diagnosed and were usually overweight or obese girls who had a relative
with the disease.
If the illness is not treated, it can lead to serious complications
later in life including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and
blindness.
Blurred vision, unusual thirst, frequent urination and tiredness
are symptoms. Type 2 diabetes occurs in about 0.14 to four percent
of obese children.
An estimated 1.8 million British schoolchildren are overweight
and a further 700,000 obese.
"UK children still have a low prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.
Children from ethnic minorities are at significantly higher risk,"
said Barrett.
"We need to tackle the causes of diabetes in the whole population
and the link to the obesity epidemic."
No reason was given as to why the disease might be so much more
prevalent in South Asian children.
Previous Diabetes
News 
|
