Generation D: Young Adults with Diabetes

[Guest guest]

GREETINGS --

The following article about the inreasing presence of Type II

Diabetes in the 30 something age group is from the Diabeto Valens

website.

wambo1941

Generation D: Young Adults with Diabetes

Until recently, type 2 diabetes and heart disease have affected older

adults almost exclusively. But the obesity epidemic in America is now

putting younger adults at risk for life-threatening diseases that

were once rare in those under age 50. Type 1 diabetes, in which the

body does not produce insulin, is traditionally seen in children and

adolescents.

But over the last decade, type 2 diabetes—formerly known as adult-

onset diabetes—has increased by 70 percent in adults aged 30 to 39,

reflecting, researchers say, the 70 percent increase in obesity in

adults aged 18 to 29. In this form of diabetes the body's use of

insulin is somewhat impaired.

A recent American Diabetes Association–funded study has found that

type 2 diabetes is more aggressive when it occurs in adults 18 to 44

than when it is acquired in older adults. Complications of diabetes

include heart attack and stroke, and the study found that younger

adults with diabetes are 14 times more like to have a heart attack

and 30 times more likely to have a stroke than other people their

age.

In a study, published in the November issue of Diabetes Care,

researchers examined the medical records of 7,844 members of a health

maintenance organization who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

and compared them with members who did not have diabetes

Why are younger adults getting type 2 diabetes?

The main reason is that up until a decade or so ago, it was pretty

rare to see type 2 diabetes in young adults, and that has changed

dramatically with the increasing obesity in our population. People

have a genetic risk for type 2 diabetes, but obesity essentially

brings that out at a younger age.

The metabolic syndrome, a risk factor for diabetes that includes a

constellation of factors such as abnormal glucose (sugar) levels,

high cholesterol and high blood pressure, are all worsened by

obesity.

Being overweight or being inactive affect how your body processes

insulin, so modest weight loss or moderate changes in activity level

will improve how insulin works.

Did the term " type 2 diabetes " replace " adult-onset diabetes " because

it's becoming more common at younger ages

Yes, exactly. It's been called non-insulin dependent in the past, but

that's not true, either, because although people often start out

treating their diabetes with diet and pills, they may need to go on

an insulin. And then it was called adult-onset to distinguish it from

the kind of diabetes that more typically presents in kids.

Because we're now seeing diabetes in younger people, they've tried to

distinguish between type 1 versus type 2. Type 1 occurs when you lose

your ability to make any insulin. Everyone with that illness requires

insulin from the start. In type 2, which is what 95 percent of the

people with diabetes have, there's a relative insulin deficiency; you

make insulin, but it's not enough or it doesn't work well enough to

have you store the sugar from your meals into your fat and muscle

cells.

How was diabetes different in young adults?

It was more aggressive from a heart standpoint. There are several

types of complications that occur with diabetes. There is what's

called the microvascular complications, which affect the small blood

vessels, and can cause blindness or kidney failure or loss of

sensation that can lead to amputation in some people with diabetes.

The macrovascular disease affects the large blood vessels, and can

cause heart disease and stroke. More than half the people with type 2

diabetes die from the consequences of macrovascular disease. And

while the microvascular complications are important, what we're

trying to prevent in type 2 diabetes is cardiovascular disease.

So it's the macrovascular disease where it the main differences

between younger and older adults was noticed. Although the absolute

rates of heart disease in older people with or without diabetes are

still higher, what we really wanted to know was how diabetes is

affecting this risk.

This was done by comparing people with new-onset diabetes and looking

at their risk of developing a heart attack or a stroke or of needing

procedures for a heart attack such as coronary bypass surgery. The

group to people without diabetes who were the same age and gender was

examined.

It was found was that young adults 18 to 44 with diabetes had a 14-

fold higher rate of heart disease compared to their peers, whereas in

older adults, that ratio was 4-fold higher. And so that's what we're

saying about it being more aggressive.

Similarly, for strokes, we found that up to 30 times higher in young

adults versus their peers and, in older adults with diabetes, strokes

were 3-fold higher than among their peers.

So people at a younger age aren't getting heart attacks or strokes

unless they have diabetes.

Did the two age groups require different treatment strategies?

Although younger and older adults, on average, required treatment

after the same amount of time, there were a lot more people in the

younger group who needed insulin. People with the early onset were 80

percent more likely to begin insulin therapy.

The reason that you need insulin that is eventually the pancreas kind

of burns out and it's not able to keep up with making insulin, so the

pancreas is losing it's ability to do that more quickly in younger

adults. So that's another reason why it's more aggressive.

How can clinicians distinguish between type 1 and type 2, now that so

many young adults have type 2?

That is becoming a more complex issue, too, and there's more studies

trying to figure that out. For example, being thin used to be one of

the ways we could say this person was a type 1. But now, because so

much of our population that is overweight, when someone presents and

needs insulin, they could be overweight and still have type 1.

Similarly, some of people with type 2 look like a type 1, and then

end up being more like a type 2 and not needing insulin all the time

after diagnosis. There's a federal project that is trying to look the

differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children.

How can young people reduce their risk for type 2 diabetes?

A lot of good information about diabetes prevention program, a major

clinical trial comparing diet and exercise with medical treatment are

available by several concerned agencies. For people who are high risk

for diabetes, the lifestyle changes such as being more active and

maintaining a healthy body weight are key. If people are overweight,

even a modest weight loss of five to ten pounds can make a big

difference.

As much as our study is important for understanding the treatment of

type 2 diabetes, it's also important for the public in terms of

realizing that obesity and type 2 diabetes occurring at an early age

is really bad. We need to look a lot more at prevention as a society

and realize that our obesity epidemic is not just a cosmetic problem.

How can parents help their children develop habits that will help

them avoid a diabetes diagnosis?

The parents can set an example by being active and encouraging the

kids to be active most every day in some way. This can be done with

exercise and activities they like. They should also try to have good

eating habits—eating fruits and vegetables and limiting things like

soda pop and fruit juice and fast food to special occasions.

It's not only the parents, there are things communities and schools

can do. A lot of schools have cut out physical education because they

don't have funding for it, but we need to find ways that kids can be

active during school.

We need to find ways to make it easy for people to be active by

walking or riding their bikes places rather than always driving their

kids.

What kind of research in young people still needs to be done in terms

of diabetes?

We need more research about prevention: What are practical, feasible

ways we can encourage people to diet and exercise? The Centers for

Disease Control is estimating that of people who are born now in

2000, one in three people will have diabetes, It's only going to get

worse if we don't do something drastic to change it.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/19/2004 8:06:58 AM Pacific Standard Time,

sanborn51@... writes:

>

> As a parent, I am responsible for my children and to

> my children. They will learn how to live their lives

> from the examples I set in living my life. So, by

> doing the right things for myself, such as taking care

> of my health, I teach them responsibility for

> themselves. I hope, as a nation, we can turn things

> around for the generations coming.

>

>

Sounds like that needs an Amen! I think you are so right-on with this.

Hugs, Marilyn

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/19/2004 7:30:35 AM Pacific Standard Time,

wambo1941@... writes:

> GREETINGS --

> The following article about the inreasing presence of Type II

> Diabetes in the 30 something age group is from the Diabeto Valens

> website.

> wambo1941

>

> Generation D: Young Adults with Diabetes

> Until recently, type 2 diabetes and heart disease have affected older

> adults almost exclusively. But the obesity epidemic in America is now

> putting younger adults at risk for life-threatening diseases that

> were once rare in those under age 50. Type 1 diabetes, in which the

> body does not produce insulin, is traditionally seen in children and

> adolescents.

>

Great post! Necessary information to know! Hugs and thanks, Marilyn

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/24/2004 7:02:16 AM Pacific Standard Time,

ben44_99@... writes:

> u would never know it my champion is Jack

> lalane he is on tv now selling his juicer he is 92 years young.

Yes, I remember watching his show when I was a kid. I think that may have

been his wife there with him. Wonder if she fared as well? Hugs, Marilyn

[Guest guest]

> In a message dated 5/19/2004 8:06:58 AM Pacific Standard Time,

> sanborn51@y... writes:

>

> >

> > As a parent, I am responsible for my children and to

> > my children. They will learn how to live their lives

> > from the examples I set in living my life. So, by

> > doing the right things for myself, such as taking care

> > of my health, I teach them responsibility for

> > themselves. I hope, as a nation, we can turn things

> > around for the generations coming.

> >

> >

>

> Sounds like that needs an Amen! I think you are so right-on with

this.

> Hugs, Marilyn

> again activity vigorous physical activity for aonyone with diabetes

or not is good for good health iam 60 walk every day am in fantstic

sahpe ahve type 2 diabetes u would never know it my champion is Jack

lalane he is on tv now selling his juicer he is 92 years young. hope

to belikehim for a long time geentic engineering is coming wih cures

for all diabetes soon with in 2 years u can call me if u want to

after 8#0pm eastern time

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Jack lalane he is on tv now selling his juicer he is 92 years young

> Yes, I remember watching his show when I was a kid.

I remember watching him as a kid, too. I wondered why I was getting grey.