“Preparations must be made at the national level,” the researchers say
Worrying increase: National study reveals data on type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents and the differences between children in the Jewish and Arab sectors
Type 2 diabetes affects millions of patients around the world every year, with the incidence of the disease increasing year by year – and rapidly. This is the more common type of diabetes, with it being estimated in the country that there are hundreds of thousands living with the disease and a similar number are expected to get it.
A comprehensive study conducted by Rambam Medical Center and including 14 medical centers from all over the country, compiled data on type 2 diabetes among Israeli children and presents an interesting and important picture regarding the extent of the disease and its consequences in Israel.
The largest study done so far in Israel
This is the largest study done so far in Israel, and it was recently published in the scientific journal Pediatric Diabetes. The study was led by Dr. Nehama Zuckerman-Levin, director of the Clinic for the Treatment and Research of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents at Ruth Children’s Hospital in Rambam, and Prof. Naim Shehadeh, director of the Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and president of the Israel Diabetes Association.
The study surveyed 379 patients, aged 10-18 years, who had type 2 diabetes and were diagnosed during the years 2008-2019. The average age of the patients was 14.7 years, with the surveyed group including 228 girls and 151 boys. 221 of the study participants came from the Jewish sector and 158 from the Arab sector.
During the years examined, a 10-fold increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes was observed in children and adolescents from the Arab sector (who constituted about 41% of patients, compared with 26% of the total population of children in Israel in those years), while in the Jewish sector there was a 3.5-fold increase.
According to Dr. Zuckerman-Levin, the clinical picture that emerged from the study was similar to cases in the world literature, but in contrast to findings in adults with diabetes from the Arab sector, children saw a different picture.
Dr. Zuckerman-Levin:
From a review of the data over the years, we found that children from the Arab sector had a low degree of obesity compared to children from the Jewish sector. This is a slightly unusual finding, the reason for which, apparently, is mostly genetic. In any case, there is no doubt that the general increase found among children is related to a change in lifestyles in recent years and to the fact that more and more populations are leading a less healthy lifestyle.
Other findings from the national study were a lower rate of metabolic syndrome, a higher rate of fatty liver and psychosocial morbidity among Israeli children, compared with what is described in the medical literature among child populations in the Western world.
In addition, the researchers identified microvascular complications in the group of children who had already participated in the study
In the diagnosis of diabetes, and within the years of follow-up their rate increased.
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In the graph: the differences between the children of the different sectors according to the study data
“It is necessary to prepare at the national level”
“This is the first time we are surveying a group on such a scale, and it is a large number of patients even compared to the world,” Dr. Zuckerman-Levin explains the importance of the study. “Its incidence is rising among children and adolescents. Based on the data emerging from the study, it is necessary to prepare accordingly at the national level, with the aim of reducing the onset of the disease and bringing about the early detection of those who may suffer from it.”
Type 2 diabetes (insulin-independent diabetes) was first diagnosed in children and adolescents in the early 1990s, in parallel with the increase in the obesity epidemic. At a young age, the disease is characterized by the presence of comorbidity, more so than in an adult or young person with type 1 diabetes.
Morbidity on a steady rise
As mentioned, in recent decades there has been a steady increase in the number of those diagnosed and those who are in the pre-diabetes stage, with the gaps between the Jewish and Arab sectors growing (to the detriment of the Arab population).
Prof. Naim Shehadeh:
There is no doubt that these alarming findings necessitate educational and preventive intervention already in early childhood, in order to stop this dangerous trend. Plans to achieve this goal are being implemented in various frameworks in the country.
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