Access to Better Care - A service of AOM Healthcare Solutions
Access to Better Care - A service of AOM Healthcare Solutions
In the past 10-15 years the percentage of youths with type 2 diabetes has increased 10 times. Depending on ethnicity, 8% to 43% of all new cases of diabetes in youths are type 2. Among African Americans and Whites ages 10 to 19 in Ohio, type 2 diabetes accounted for 33% of all cases of diabetes.
There are lifestyle patterns that lead to childhood overweight. Childhood overweight is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. 32% of females and 52% of males 14-18 years of age consume 3 or more servings of soft drinks per day. An extra soda a day increases the risk for overweight by 60%.
A study in Pediatrics looked at 6,212 children and teens 4-19 years old. 30% of the children and teens ate fast food on a typical day. Children eating fast food ate an additional 187 calories a day. Children who ate fast food also ate more total fat, more saturated fat, more carbohydrate, more added sugars, more sugar-sweetened beverages, less milk and fewer fruits and non-starchy vegetables.
About 30% of youth who watch television 5 or more hours a day are overweight. About 10% of youth who watch television 2 hours or less are overweight.
A study in New England Journal of Medicine showed that physical activity in both white girls and black girls declined with age. While 9- and 10-year-olds were active, the 19-year-olds had very little physical activity.
Type 2 diabetes in youth is associated with beta cell failure as well as insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance may be more intense in teens due to puberty. Childhood type 2 diabetes may involve destruction of beta cells, which is different than type 2 diabetes in adults. Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in children/youth is the same as for adults. A fasting glucose of 126 or more on 2 occasions gives the diagnosis of diabetes. Random blood glucose of 200 or more with classic symptoms such as thirst and frequent urination can also be used to diagnose diabetes.
The screening test is fasting plasma glucose.
The team approach is the best way to treat type 2 diabetes in children and teens. The entire family should be involved in the diabetes education process.
Treatment goals include:
Healthcare providers and diabetes educators have the responsibility to ensure long-term health for children with type 2 diabetes. Teens with type 2 diabetes and poorly controlled blood glucose levels could have cardiovascular events in their 20’s and 30’s.
This is a summary of information from two talks by Dr. Francine Kaufman, MD and a newsletter, “Examining the Issues of Diabetes in Youth,” from the Diabetes Care and Education Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association.
Karen Halderson, MPH, RD, LD, CDE
Extension Diabetes Coordinator
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