Diabetes increased in teens and children over the past decade, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The rate of newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in youths under 20 increased by about 1.8 percent each year from 2002 to 2012. For type 2, the increase was even bigger, at 4.8 percent.
The cause of the increase is not clear, although there are key differences among racial and ethnic groups.
For instance, the rate of newly diagnosed type 1 cases increased sharply among Hispanics, with a 4.2 percent annual increase. In non-Hispanic blacks, the rate of type 1 rose by 2.2 percent and in non-Hispanic whites by 1.2 percent a year.
“We need to understand why the increase in rates of diabetes development varies so greatly and is so concentrated in specific racial and ethnic groups,” said Barbara Linder, senior adviser for childhood diabetes research at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
The study period of 2002 to 2012 ended about four years after former first lady Michelle Obama started a public health campaign called Let’s Move. The goal was to reduce childhood obesity, which is often linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. But the impact of the initiative is not clear, as the results on childhood obesity remain mixed.
A 2014 CDC study found that from 2009 to 2012, the obesity rate for children ages 2-5 dropped by 3.7 percentage points, while students age 12 to 19 saw a 1.1 percentage point decrease. However, rates rose 3.1 percentage points for teens age 12 to 19.
With type 1 diabetes, the person’s pancreas cannot make insulin, which is necessary in converting sugar to energy. It often begins in childhood. Most people have type 2 diabetes, in which insulin is produced, but the body’s cells don’t process it correctly. While it is typically found in adults, more teens and children are now getting it.
