The youngest child with type 2 diabetes reported was a 5 year old Hispanic male who presented with obesity, acanthosis nigricans, and hyperglycemia. Similar to our patient, type 1 diabetes autoantibodies and monogenic diabetes genetic testing were negative.
A three-year-old girl has become the youngest person in the world to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after reaching 5½ stone. The youngster from Texas, US, who has not been identified, was admitted to an obeisty clinic after suffering from extreme thirst and urination, the first signs of the disease.
Age Matters
Kids who get type 2 diabetes are usually diagnosed in their early teens. One reason is that hormones present during puberty make it harder for the body use insulin, especially for girls, who are more likely than boys to develop type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes can develop in anyone, including children. The condition is more likely to develop in people with overweight or obesity.
Your child could get type 1 diabetes as an infant, or later, as a toddler or a teen. Most often, it appears after age 5. But some people don't get it until their late 30s.
No matter how thin you are, you can still get Type 2 diabetes.
People With Diabetes Can Live Longer by Meeting Their Treatment Goals. Life expectancy can be increased by 3 years or in some cases as much as 10 years. At age 50, life expectancy- the number of years a person is expected to live- is 6 years shorter for people with type 2 diabetes than for people without it.
Diabetes is a chronic condition that can appear at any age, even in the first year of a child's life. Sometimes, the diagnosis is delayed in babies and young children because diabetes symptoms are similar to those of other illnesses.
Type 2 diabetes occurs more commonly in adults. In fact, it used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But the increasing number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.
If you have type 2 diabetes, your risk of developing heart disease, stroke, foot problems, eye and kidney disease is increased. To reduce your risk of developing other serious health conditions, you may be advised to take other medicines, including: anti-hypertensive medicines to control high blood pressure.
Though we know sugar doesn't directly cause type 2 diabetes, you are more likely to get it if you are overweight. You gain weight when you take in more calories than your body needs, and sugary foods and drinks contain a lot of calories.
A skipped meal alters the balance between food intake and insulin production, and can cause your blood sugar levels to eventually drop. “For diabetic people dependent on insulin or blood sugar–lowering medication, skipping meals can be more dangerous because it can lead to low blood sugar,” says Pearson.
The metabolic disease can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, and other medical problems, and is often severe enough to shave years off the lifespan. But trim, white-haired Bob Krause, who turned 90 last week, is still going strong. The San Diego resident is believed to be the oldest diabetic ever.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults aged 45–64 receive the majority of new diabetes diagnoses in the U.S.
Type 2 diabetes runs in families. In part, this is due to children learning bad habits—eating a poor diet, not exercising—from their parents. But there is also a genetic basis.
The amount of sugar kids eat leads to big blood sugar spikes over time. This increases the risk of insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Too much sugar can also affect your child's mood, activity and hyperactivity.
The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown. But in most people with type 1 diabetes, the body's immune system — which normally fights harmful bacteria and viruses — mistakenly destroys insulin-producing (islet) cells in the pancreas. Genetics and environmental factors appear to play a role in this process.
It's normal for babies and children, especially toddlers, to drink a lot and pass lots of urine (wee). This is called habitual drinking. But excessive thirst and increased urination in babies, children and teenagers can be a sign of diabetes mellitus or diabetes insipidus, which can be caused by a brain tumour.
If you have a mother, father, sister, or brother with diabetes, you are more likely to get diabetes yourself. You are also more likely to have prediabetes. Talk to your doctor about your family health history of diabetes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 30 million Americans have diabetes and 90 percent to 95 percent have type 2 diabetes. An estimated 193,000 children younger than 20 years old have been diagnosed type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Life Expectancy
The average life expectancy of a type 2 diabetic patient is between 77 to 81 years. However, it is not uncommon for diabetics to live past the age of 85, should they be able to maintain good blood sugar levels and lengthen their lifespan.
Diabetics clearly should avoid heavy drinking (i.e., more than 10 to 12 drinks per day), because it can cause ketoacidosis and hypertriglyceridemia. Moreover, heavy drinking in a fasting state can cause hypoglycemia and ultimately increase diabetics' risk of death from noncardiovascular causes.
Type 1 diabetes is considered worse than type 2 because it is an autoimmune disease, so there isn't a cure. Also, in a 2010 report⁴ from the UK, it's estimated that the life expectancy of people with type 2 diabetes can be reduced by up to 10 years, while type 1 can reduce life expectancy by 20 years or more.