UK’s high toll of child diabetes revealed

Diabetes UK says 24.5 per 100,000 children under 14 in the UK are diagnosed every year with Type 1 diabetes which, unlike the other main strand, Type 2, is not linked to lifestyle or obesity factors.

Of the 89 countries included in the charity’s data, only Finland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Norway have higher rates than the UK.

The UK rate is more than double that in France and Italy; and in Papua New Guinea and Venezuela, which have the joint lowest reported rates in the world, just 0.1 per 100,000 develop the condition a year.

Scientists do not fully understand why there is such wide variation, but genes are thought to play a role.

Type 1 diabetes, where the body does not produce insulin, can lead to serious illness and even death if it is not diagnosed quickly.

In the UK only nine per cent of parents are aware of its symptoms and a quarter of the 2,000 children a year who develop diabetes are only diagnosed once they are already ill, according to the charity.

It suggests the UK rate is so high as parents are unaware of the four main symptoms for Type 1 diabetes: frequent urination; excessive thirst; extreme tiredness; and unexplained weight loss.

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said the charity also wants to highlight the need for good quality healthcare for children with diabetes.