Children and minorities headed for huge jump in diabetes

A new CDC report confirms the bad news we already saw coming: diabetes isn't looking good for our kids.

While some recent research has suggested death rates are down for children with diabetes, the prevalence of the disease continues to pose a major public health problem for future generations--and our health care system.

Diabetes rates predicted to soar over next 40 years

The report states that type 1 and type 2 diabetes rates are going to skyrocket in the next 40 years--perhaps tripling or quadrupling. For children, even if diabetes rates were to stay exactly the same in the next four decades, the number of children to develop type 2 diabetes would jump by about 50 percent.

The rise, experts say, will particularly affect minority children. By 2050, projections estimate that almost half of all newly diagnosed diabetic children will be of minority populations.


“Diabetes is clearly increasing at an unacceptable rate, and while we are doing a whole lot better in terms of treating it, we simply can’t keep up,”  said Dr. Robert E. Ratner, American Diabetes Association Chief Scientific and Medical Officer. “The simple fact is we are losing the battle by not preventing this disease.”

Type 2 was rare in children just 20 years ago

According to Ratner, seeing type 2 diabetes in children 20 years ago was incredibly rare, but currently about 215,000 kids under the age of 20 have diabetes.

Rater notes that public health initiatives could have a dramatic effect on just how bad the type 2-epidemic will be in coming years. According to WedMD, medical expenses for children with diabetes tend to be about six times higher than those for non-diabetic children.


Source: WebMD


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