Response To News Coverage That Diabetes Is On The Increase Across The UK

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 25 Feb 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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In response to the news today that there has been an increase in the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes, whilst type 1 diabetes has remained constant over a ten year period between 1996 and 2005, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has issued the following response.

Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF, comments: 'This study is interesting as there are very few that look at type 1 and type 2 diabetes separately. However, it does not account for all those children who are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes under the age of 10. Other studies have shown that in children under five, incidence is increasing by about four per cent each year, with a five-fold increase in diagnoses in this age group in the last 20 years.'

The study, which has been conducted by a group of Spanish and Swedish researchers, used information gathered from The Health Improvement Network database. It focused on records of patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes aged between 10 and 79 years old between 1996 and 2005. Of the 42,642 newly diagnosed cases, recorded in the ten year period, only 1,256 diagnoses were of type 1 diabetes.

Continuing, Ms Addington says: 'JDRF is currently studying this to further understand the implications of this research. In the meantime the charity will continue to raise money to drive world-class research to prevent, treat and cure type 1 diabetes and its serious and debilitating complications.'

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

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