India is home to a large population of diabetes patients. Childhood diabetes is also on the rise in the Indian Subcontinent. Pediatric diabetes is an emerging problem, and we need to tackle it at this stage only with medications and inculcating healthy habits in our children. These modifications will go a long way to help ease their suffering later.
Insulin is the hormone produced by the islet cells of pancreas which help in regulating the blood glucose levels. Insulin is needed for the normal metabolism of glucose. Thus, it is a very essential hormone that keeps sugar levels within the normal range. Any abnormality in this hormone will reflect adversely on the sugar levels.
Amongst the different types of diabetes, Type I is the most common amongst children. It is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. The pancreas of these patients is unable to produce adequate quantities of insulin. As a result, their blood sugar levels are elevated, and they must be given insulin. As per the nationwide diabetes prevalence study conducted by ICMR, India has about 95600 cases of Type I diabetes amongst children below 14 years of age and 15900 fresh cases are being added to the current burden every year.
Type II diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance. So the body is producing insulin but it is unable to do its job. The cells of the body do not respond well to the insulin causing a rise in blood glucose levels. Such patients need lifestyle modifications in addition to treatment. According to WHO, 77 million people above the age of 18 years are suffering from type II diabetes in India. However, there is an increasing trend of this type in children as well. This is mainly attributed to the increasing incidence of childhood obesity. Unhealthy eating habits, especially having sugar-loaded foods, sedentary lifestyle, stress, peer pressure etc all contribute to this. We as parents need to step up and encourage them to adopt healthy habits.
Diabetes not only affects the sugar levels but has many associated co-morbidities as mentioned below:
Retinopathy- damage to the retina of the eye
Nephropathy- kidney disease which can culminate in kidney failure.
Neuropathy- Many a times patients have abnormal sensations like numbness, tingling especially over their limbs. This altered sensation can cause damage to the extremities as they will not feel heat, cold, pain like their peers.
Delayed wound healing.
Awareness of this disease will help us reduce the burden of this disease. It is not only debilitating for the individual but also affects the family health and finances.
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