Diabetes cases increase among children

A new study finds the prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents in the United States increased significantly between 2001 and 2009.
University of North Carolina researchers teamed with researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health.  They studied the trend of diabetes cases among more than 3-million children and adolescents aged 0 to 19.

They found the number of type-1 diabetes cases increased 21 percent over the 8-year study period. The biggest increase was seen in teens 15 through 19 years old. The number of type-2 diabetes cases also went up between 2001 and 2009 with the biggest increase being seen among kids aged 10 to 19. Type-2 diabetes cases rose 30 percent in that age group. Researchers hope to use the data to pinpoint the cause of the increases.

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"With type-1 it's a little tricky," said Cleveland Clinic Pediatrician Dr. Sara Lappe. "We don't know exactly what has caused this. With type-2 we tend to- those are kids that tend to be overweight." 

Complete findings for the study "Prevalence of Type-1 and Type-2 Diabetes Among Children and Adolescents from 2001 to 2009" are in the Journal of the American Medical Association.