Diabetes rates surge in youth, Study Finds

If current trends continue, the number of Americans under 20 who have type 2 diabetes might rise to about 675% by 2060, while the number of young people with type 1 diabetes could rise to 65%.

In the US, type 2 diabetes—in which the body doesn't use insulin as it should—has “substantially increased” in this age group over the past 20 years, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas makes little or no insulin, is more common in young people.

The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth research, which is supported by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health, provided the data for the new study, which was published this month in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care.

The researchers discovered that the number of young individuals with either form of diabetes would increase by 12%, from 213,000 to 239,000, assuming incidence rates from 2017 remained constant over the ensuing decades. But if the rate of occurrence keeps growing as it did from 2002 to 2017, 526,000 adolescents could get diabetes by the year 2060.

According to the study, there is a greater likelihood of type 2 diabetes among young people who identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, or Alaska Native than white people.

According to the CDC, there are a number of possible reasons for the notable rise in type 2 diabetes rates that are predicted, including the prevalence of diabetes in individuals who are childbearing age and rising rates of childhood obesity.

Diabetes effects include nerve damage, issues with vision and hearing, heart disease, renal disease, and early death. The researchers emphasize that young people may require earlier medical attention because the condition may progress more quickly in them than in adults. This could therefore raise demand on the US healthcare systems and drive up the cost of care.

We should all take this new information as a wake-up call. Dr. Debra Houry, acting principal deputy director of the CDC, stated in a statement that "it's critical that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be."

The results were deemed "alarming" by Christopher Holliday, the director of the organization's Division of Diabetes Translation.

"The alarming estimates of type 2 diabetes increases in this study highlight the need to improve health equity and lessen the pervasive inequalities that already have a negative impact on people's health," the study's author stated in a statement.