Diabetes affects children faster

A new study has found that children who suffer from type 2 diabetes will undergo faster development of the disease than adults with the same condition. It found that diabetic children experience a much faster reduction in beta cell function than adults.
This means their doses of insulin need to be raised within a couple of years of being diagnosed with the condition.
The results of the study, undertaken at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, provide the first evidence of such a rapid drop in glycaemic control .
Lorraine Katz, who led the research, said “The decline in reserve over time in childhood type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) would be more severe for those presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The more rapid deterioration of glucose control in children with type 2 diabetes is unsettling because of the myriad potential diabetic complications that may develop earlier than is seen in adults.”
The study showed that, unlike adults, children with T2DM need to increase their insulin doses over a four-year period, and diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis predicts greater beta cell decline over time.