Globally, there are close to 500,000
children under the age of 15 with type 1 diabetes.
Every day 200 children develop type 1
diabetes – that’s 70,000 children a year.
Type 1 diabetes is increasing in children
at a rate of 3% each year.
Type 1 diabetes is increasing fastest in
pre-school children, at a rate of 5% per year.
As rates of childhood obesity have risen
sharply, so have the rates of type 2 diabetes among children. From 2005 to
2008, type 2 diabetes doubled in American children.
Up to 45% of children with newly diagnosed
diabetes have type 2 diabetes and most are overweight or obese at diagnosis.
In some countries (like Japan), type 2
diabetes has become the most common form of the disease in children.
In native and aboriginal communities in the
U.S., Canada and Australia, at least one in 100 youth have diabetes. In some
communities, it is one in every 25.
Diabetes hits the poorest hardest. In
Zambia, a child with type 1 diabetes can expect to live an average of 11 years.
In Mali, the same child can expect to live only 30 months. And in Mozambique,
the child is likely to die within a year.
Insulin, used to control their blood sugar,
was discovered more than 85 years ago and is a proven method of diabetes
management. Unfortunately, children in many parts of the world still die
because this essential drug is not available to them.
Note: Children with diabetes should monitor their
blood sugar regularly to help control their diabetes. This monitoring equipment
is often unavailable or not affordable.
Sources:
International
Diabetes Federation
American Diabetes
Association
World Health
Organization
Federal Drug
Administration
Fox News
Physical and Mental
Health
Diabetes
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