Diabetes is a growing concern; nearly a third of the people who have diabetes in the UK don't know they have the condition. So what exactly is diabetes? How is it diagnosed? Can you prevent it? And what can you do if you have it?

As the childhood obesity crisis continues to rage on and command tons of media attention, people seem to have ignored the fact that whilst the obesity rate continues to grow, the figures for young people with diabetes are rapidly growing too. This June, different activities and events will be happening all over the UK to celebrate Diabetes Awareness Week and despite worrying figures that show young people are at greater risk than older people, diabetes is still seen as an “old persons disease”.

Young people at risk

Whilst 10-14 year olds remain to be the largest group for diagnosis, type 1 diabetes more commonly starts when people are between 2 and 20 and this condition can bring on other problems and complications, as shown by various recent studies. It’s been claimed that one in three people with type 1 diabetes aged between 18 and 30 already suffer from retinopathy, a condition affecting the blood vessels supplying the retina, which can cause blindness by the age of 40.

The Diabetes UK Annual Professional Conference (APC) stated that statistics have shown that 26 per cent of young people with diabetes aged between 12 and 17 haven’t been tested for retinopathy in the last 12 months despite the Government stating that all young people with diabetes should get a yearly screening.

The APC also announced that younger people with type 2 diabetes are at bigger risk than older people of developing cardiovascular disease. Dr Song from the Diabetes Centre in the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, carried out the research. He said; “Type 2 diabetes is no longer confined to the middle-aged and elderly population. We are seeing an increasing number of young adults diagnosed with this condition.”

Diabetes has always been perceived as an old person’s disease because it was seen as a product of middle-age weight gain but now that childhood obesity has become such an issue it has made the average diagnosis age a great deal younger. It’s estimated that by 2010 there will be 230 million people with type 2 diabetes worldwide.

What is it?

Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the amount of glucose in the blood is too high because the body can’t use it properly. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes develops if the body can’t produce any insulin and it usually appears in people younger than 40. This is the least common of the two types and accounts for 5 -15% of all people with the condition. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body can make some insulin but not enough, or when the insulin is produced it doesn’t work properly. In most cases this can be linked to being overweight and appears in people over the age of 40 but in Asian and black people it shows after 25. However, recently children as young as seven have been diagnosed. There are currently over 2 million people with diabetes in the UK and there are up to 750,000 people who are unaware that they have the condition.

How do you know?

Both types of diabetes are developed when the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas have been destroyed. It’s unknown why this happens in certain people but there are certain risk factors and symptoms that can be cause for concern. The main risk factors that relate to younger people are if you have an immediate family member with type 2 diabetes, if you’re overweight or suffer from high blood pressure. It’s also been proven that African-Caribbean or South Asian people who live in the UK are at least five times more likely to have diabetes than white people.

Although not all people with diabetes are overweight – nor is it the only deciding factor – statistics show that over 80% of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight meaning that the more overweight and inactive you are the more likely it is that you may be at risk. As obesity has become a global epidemic, diabetes is a prevalent and serious outcome for people who are heavily overweight.

What to look out for

Although there remain to be just under a million people in the UK who are unaware of the fact that they suffer from this illness, there are certain signs and symptoms to look out for:

¨ Increased thirst

¨ Going to the toilet constantly, especially at night

¨ Extreme tiredness

¨ Weight loss

¨ Blurred vision

¨ Genital itching and regular episodes of thrush

¨ Slow healing wounds

Living with diabetes

One of the things that stop young people from checking for this illness is the misconceived notion that diabetes – type 1 or 2 – is impossible to live with. Type 1 is treated with insulin injections (two to four a day), diet and the recommendation of regular exercise whilst type 2 can also be helped by lifestyle changes. Sarah Connor* is a 19 year old university student who was diagnosed two years ago. She admits that the insulin injections were hard at first but soon realised that she could lead a normal life. “People shouldn’t be scared and as long as you control your diabetes and do your injections, diabetes does not have to restrict you in any way.”

More info

If you think that you may have any of these symptoms the best thing to do is get a test because the earlier it is diagnosed the better your quality of life will be. For further information contact:

¨ www.youthhealthtalk.org
 ¨ www.diabetes.org.uk