CDC: Diabetes on rise among children, teens

New diabetes cases among youths increased 4.8% a year for type 2 and 1.8% a year for type 1 between 2002 and 2012, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. New type 2 cases increased most sharply in Native Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and African Americans, though the Native American participants in the study were not representative of all Native American youth. New type 1 cases increased most in Hispanics. The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health. “Because of the early age of onset and longer diabetes duration, youth are at risk for developing diabetes related complications at a younger age,” said Giuseppina Imperatore, M.D., an epidemiologist at CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “This profoundly lessens their quality of life, shortens their life expectancy, and increases health care costs.”