Children, the most affected by type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is more aggressive in children than in adults, presenting signs of serious complications observed just a few years after diagnosis, find a recent investigation.

INFO7 - "According to the most recent results, it seems that type 2 diabetes progresses faster in children," said Dr. Jane Chiang, the main vice president of medical matters and community information of the American Diabetes Association (American Diabetes Association)."Complications appear faster, and seem to be present with a significantly greater rate than what we see among adults."

The results are alarming, Chiang and other experts raised."If these children continue to progress so quickly, we could see many of the consequences of type 2 diabetes at a much earlier age, such as kidney disease and heart disease," he warned.

The findings come from an ongoing study on the treatment options for type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents.Researchers use data from the same study group to evaluate disease -related factors in young people, such as their complications.

People with type 2 diabetes have higher glycemia levels, because their organism does not produce or does not use insulin properly.Insulin is a hormone that is necessary to transform food into energy.Being overweight is the most significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.The number of US children with type 2 diabetes, which is usually found in adults over 40, is high and increased, experts say.

The study included almost 700 children with type 2 diabetes, who were between 10 and 17 years old at the beginning and had suffered from the disease, on average, for eight months.Type 2 diabetes are rarely observed in children under 10, Chiang said.All participants had a body mass index (a calculation of body fat based on a proportion between weight and height) in the 85 or higher percentile, which is considered as overweight.

Children received education about diabetes, and were randomly assigned to receive one of three treatments: metformin, metformin plus intensive changes in lifestyle or metformin plus rosiglitazone (Avandia brand).

At the beginning of the study, about 12 percent of the participants had high blood pressure (hypertension).Four years later, about 34 percent had hypertension, and the risk was higher among the boys and among those who had more weight, according to the report, which appears in a special online edition of May 23 of the Magazine DiabetesCare.

An initial signal of the disease, known as microalbuminuria, almost tripled in the four years, from 6.3 to almost 17 percent of the children, the study found.

Other outstanding points:

The destruction of beta cells, which produce insulin, in children and adolescents occurred at a rate almost four times greater than in adults.

Metformin and rosiglitazone improved insulin sensitivity during the first six months of the study.There were no changes in insulin sensitivity among patients who took metformin and made changes in lifestyle, and there was a decrease in insulin sensitivity among young people who only took metformin.In adults, metformin usually improves insulin sensitivity.

Children and adolescents with higher levels of blood glucose had the worst results with oral medications, and had to start using insulin before.

For three years, the percentage of young people who needed medications to reduce LDL cholesterol (thebad) increased from 4.5 to 10.7 percent.

Lifestyle interventions did not seem to help reduce LDL cholesterol, although they did help reduce triglycerid levels, another type of blood fat.

Ocular damage occurred at a similar pace than in adults.About five years after the diagnosis, 13.7 percent of the children had non -proliferative retinopathy, a condition that blocks the blood vessels of the eyes.

"The rapid advance of hypertension and kidney disease was surprising," said Dr. Jane Lynch, a leader of the part of the study and renal disease of the study.

"We really thought they had these children controlled in terms of treatments, and still their disease advanced," Lynch, a professor of pediatrics at the Endocrinology and Diabetes Division of the Center for Health Sciences of the University of Texas, in SanAntonio.

Lynch said that puberty hormones, which cause insulin resistance, are probably the main reason for accelerated progression.Researchers ignore what will happen when adolescents pass puberty.

"We don't know what the progression rates will be," Lynch said."But we know that the ages to which kidney transplants are made have decreased."

The prevention of type 2 diabetes in children is essential, experts emphasized."We have to concentrate on creating good habits, instead of trying to reverse bad habits," Lynch said."The time to start talking is pregnancy, and you have to continue in schools."

Chiang agreed that there must be a great boost in the education of people about the prevention of diabetes and obesity."Not everyone can prevent diabetes, but there are steps that can be taken in the right direction, such as teaching on healthy eating and the importance of physical activity," he said.
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