Teenage diabetes alarm bells are ringing

Diabetes amongst teenagers and the young is soaring in prevalence, and poor adherence to treatment is beginning to create a major healthcare crisis. According to reports published in the Lancet, the need to address type 2 diabetes amongst young people is paramount .
Type 2 is an insidious disease that is often coupled with obesity . Type 2 may lead to neuropathy and amputation, disease of the heart, kidney and liver, high blood pressure and even blindness . If uncontrolled blood sugar continues to be untreated, there is a strong risk of injury or death.
Diabetes UK weighed in with their concerns over the research. Unfortunately, many teenagers wish to live a normal life, and are less than strict in their diabetic management . The authors of the Israeli Study, Dr. Pinhas-Hamiel, reportedly commented: “Substantial morbidity and mortality have been reported in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes. These findings, although still limited, suggest that we urgently need to develop approaches to awareness of type 2 diabetes and associated abnormalities while designing longterm studies to establish the value of early initiation of adjunctive treatments .”