There is a significant increase in diabetes among kids—as high as 15 per cent—post Covid-19 pandemic, doctors have warned and advised parents to keep a tab on body mass index (BMI) from the early years in children to regulate any symptoms. Preparing growth charts will provide easy detection, they said.
Their observation at the webinar on ‘Diabetes Free India’ organized recently by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) echoes in the finding of an international multi-center study which noted that during the Covid crisis, significantly more children and young people had already developed diabetic ketoacidosis (metabolic imbalances) when diagnosed with type 1 diabetes than in previous years.
The study is published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. “If children and young people have already developed metabolic imbalances (diabetic ketoacidosis) at the time of diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D), this can result in complications such as extended stays in hospital, poorer long-term control of blood sugar levels, brain edema, or even a higher mortality rate,” it said.
The study cohort consisted of 104,290 children and young people aged between 6 months and 18 years old who were diagnosed with T1D between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2021. The increase in the prevalence of Diabetic Ketoacidosis during the pandemic was greater than expected.
Dr. Anoop Misra, Chairman, fortis- C-DOC centre of Excellence for Diabetes stressed on focusing on children and primordial prevention, which he said, would help cut down the prevalence of the lifelong disease. “Educating and creating awareness is the need of the hour..There is a need to keep the goal towards Diabetes Free India below 5 per cent cases.”
T1D occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. Without this hormone, glucose cannot move from the bloodstream into the body’s cells, causing high blood sugar levels. Although it’s often considered a juvenile disease, it can occur at any age.
Anil Rajput, Chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council pointed out that diabetes is one of the fastest growing health risks in India due to a sedentary lifestyle, particularly among children. “Our country is home to nearly 80 million diabetics and this number is expected to rise to a staggering 134 million in the next 25 years.”
Dr. Sumeet Arora, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinology, Artemis Hospital, Gurugram too stressed on keeping a check on the BMI of the kids. On the other hand, Dr. BM Makkar, Diabetes & Bariatric Physician explained that insulin is a life-saving drug in terms of diabetes and the impact is physiological. With preventive measures, a diabetic person can achieve 10-15% of normal glucose levels as diabetes remission is possible.
Doctors say, the total prevalence of T1D in the country is 2.5 lakh across all age groups, with one lakh being children under the age of 14 years, and around 15,900 new cases being reported in the same age.
As per the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the number of patients suffering from diabetes is expected to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by the end of 2045.