Teenage diabetes is a 'time bomb'

John von Radowitz
Friday 25 May 2007 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Rising rates of teenage diabetes could be creating a ticking "time bomb" of death and serious illness, experts warned yesterday.

Scientists gathered evidence from around the world indicating alarming levels of diabetic complications among adolescents.

They warned that the increasing prevalence of type-2 diabetes among young people could lead to a "serious public health challenge" in years to come.

The condition can lead to high blood pressure, blindness, the destruction of nerves and muscle, heart, liver and kidney disease, and psychiatric disorders. Left untreated, it can cause coma and death. Often the effects are worse in young people than they are in older adults.

The researchers, led by Dr Orit Pinhas-Hamiel, from Sheba Medical Centre in Tel-Hashomer, Israel, wrote in The Lancet medical journal: "We urgently need to develop approaches to awareness of type-2 diabetes and associated abnormalities while designing long-term studies to establish the value of early initiation of adjunctive treatments."

Type-2 diabetes is linked to obesity, which has reached epidemic levels among children.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in