Diabetes mellitus it's not just an adult disease. It can even occur in the first days of life and can appear at any time, so it is important that parents take it into account and pediatricians think about it to diagnose it.
On November 14, the World Day of this pathology is celebrated, focusing this year on children and adolescents, and this Saturday the 10th Anniversary Diabetes Foundation Symposium is organized.
To suffer from the so-called type I or insulin-dependent diabetes it is necessary to have a predisposition in our genes. But having this genetic alteration is not enough, you can have it without ever developing the disease. It's necessary that there is some environmental factor so far unknown, viral or toxic type, for this disease to develop.
This factor seems to be responsible for the fact that in the last five years the numbers of diabetic children are increasing dramatically, specifically among those under five, and that this increase is only seen in certain regions of the country. In addition, this factor is increasingly aggressive and could even be transmitted to the child during pregnancy.
In Spain, the numbers vary greatly according to communities, for example in Andalusia or the Canary Islands there is a high incidence of between 20 and 25 cases per 100,000 adolescents, while in Madrid or Catalonia they are 13.7 and 16 per 100,000 respectively. In total, 1,100 new cases of type I diabetes are detected every year.
Regarding European countries, we are leading the way with rather high figures, although without reaching 63 cases per 100,000 of Finland.
Despite this early onset of the disease, the good thing is that children become adults without presenting complications arising from the disease, thanks to the knowledge and good control that is becoming better between parents and teachers.
Via | Terra In Babies and more | All the news about diabetes
