Death rate for diabetic children down, but adolescents may be in trouble

Parents with young diabetic children may have a reason to celebrate.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the death rate for children with diabetes has gone down about 61 percent over the last 40 years. But adolescents with the disease may have a worse fate.

Statistics for children and adolescents

While the decreased death rate for children under ten was about 78 percent, it was only 52 percent for children over the age of ten. Another reason to worry about older kids? Researchers also found that, since 1984, the death rate for diabetic children in the 10-19 age range has gone up by 1.6 percent.

So while the number of diabetes diagnoses for young people continues to skyrocket--in 2010, it was estimated that about 215,000 Americans under 20 had diabetes--the CDC research suggests that diabetes care is improving in our country, at least for younger children. The more preventative care a child receives, the less likely the disease will be fatal in adolescent years.

More research is needed

Since, according to the report, all diabetes-related deaths in young people can be prevented, there is a need for more research about the adolescent age group and how the disease progresses in this population.

"These findings indicate a need for improved diabetes diagnosis and care, especially among youths aged 10–19 years, whose risk for diabetes-related mortality appears to have increased in recent years," the report stated.

The report can be found on the CDC website.

Source: Minn Post