Diabetes in Children - Diabetes and School Care in New Jersey

Diabetes in Children

rwjms.umdnj.edu

News Release
Date: October 31, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Forbes
Phone: 732-235-6356
Email: jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu

Diabetes in Children -- Understanding Warning Signs and Risk Factors Helps Prevent Life-long Complications
Parents Urged to Increase Awareness during National Diabetes Awareness Month

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Diabetes mellitus, particularly type 2 diabetes, is a life-altering disease that has quickly become a national health concern as one of the consequences of the current epidemic of obesity in the United States. The increase in type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents has emerged in parallel with an alarming rise in the number of young people who have become overweight or obese. The American Diabetes Association predicts that 1 in 3 children who were born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes during their lifetime. During National Diabetes Awareness Month in November, pediatricians at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School urge parents to recognize the risk factors for type 2 diabetes to prevent their children from developing this disease and protect their children from its life-long complications.

“Type 2 diabetes is a preventable disorder, yet could become a national epidemic as it is increasingly being diagnosed not only in adolescents, but in the younger population. It is no longer considered to be a condition of primarily adults.” said Ian Marshall, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

According to Dr. Marshall, type 2 diabetes in the genetically susceptible individual can develop over time as a consequence of poor eating and exercise habits. This form of diabetes results when insulin resistance (when the body is unable to properly respond to insulin) is accompanied by failure of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar (glucose) into energy. Without insulin, blood sugar levels will rise and result in diabetes that can lead to long-term damage to the eyes, nerves and kidneys.

Although type 2 diabetes is increasing in frequency, type 1 diabetes (formerly known as juvenile diabetes) which was previously regarded as the only form of diabetes in children, is still the major type of diabetes. It is characterized by an autoimmune process whereby the body produces chemical substances that attack and eventually destroy the pancreas. There are very few identifiable risk factors for this type of diabetes.

A child’s pediatrician can identify the risk factors for type 2 diabetes through regular examinations. These risk factors, in addition to overweight and obesity, include a family history of type 2 diabetes, Hispanic and African American ethnicity, and signs of insulin resistance that include acanthosis nigricans (darkening and thickening of the skin usually of the neck and underarms), high blood pressure, dyslipidemia (characterized by increase in triglycerides and decrease in the HDL [or good] cholesterol in the blood), and polycystic ovarian syndrome. According to Dr. Marshall, physicians who recognize these risk factors in their pediatric patients must encourage these children (and often other members of their families) to lose weight by healthy lifestyle choices such as a following a healthy diet, increasing their physical activity and decreasing their sedentary behaviors (such as television watching, video games and computer use). Physicians who suspect type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents should order the appropriate blood testing to confirm the diagnosis.

First and foremost in the treatment of type 2 diabetes is losing weight by healthy lifestyle choices as mentioned above. Medications that can be used include insulin as well as an oral medication called metformin. However, according to Dr. Marshall, these healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the need for treatment with medications and prevent the long-term complications.

“Parents should serve as role models for their children, making healthy lifestyle choices to maintain healthy weights through proper nutrition and regular exercise,” said Dr. Marshall. “If not prevented and not properly managed, type 2 diabetes can cause severe life-long complications, including cardiovascular and kidney disorders.”

The Pediatric Diabetes Program, run by Colleen Clark-Chuo, RN, CDE, who provides specialized diabetes education to her patients, is one of many specialized programs offered by the division of pediatric endocrinology in the department of pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The division, under the leadership of Ian Marshall, MD, provides diagnoses, treatment and management services not only for diabetes but for a variety of other pediatric endocrine problems including short stature, early or delayed puberty, thyroid disorders, lipid disorders, disorders of calcium and vitamin D, and bone disorders.

For more information about the Pediatrics Diabetes Program, please call 732-235-9378.

Media interested in interviewing Dr. Marshall should contact Jennifer Forbes at 732-235-6356 or jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu.

UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL

As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey’s premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.

As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,500 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments and hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs.

© 2008 Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, all rights reserved.