http://www.healthsentinel.com/org_news.php?event=org_news_print_list_item&id5

Roman Bystrianyk, "Type 1 Diabetes on the Rise in Children", Health
Sentinel, September 8, 2005,

Previously known as juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes is usually
diagnosed in children and young adults. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic
disease that occurs when the pancreas produces too little insulin to
regulate blood sugar levels appropriately. Sugar is the basic fuel for
the cells in the body, and insulin takes the sugar from the blood into
the cells.

Without sufficient insulin, glucose builds up in the blood and despite
high levels the body is unable to use this glucose for energy. This
leads to increased hunger and because of the high levels of sugar in
the blood it causes the patient to urinate more, which then results in
excessive thirst. Typically within 5 to 10 years after diagnosis, the
insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are destroyed resulting in
no more insulin production.

Epidemiological studies have shown a high, and rising, incidence of
childhood type 1 diabetes in the past two decades in Europe and
Australia. The incidence of type 2 diabetes is also significantly
rising in many Western countries and parallels the considerable
increase in childhood obesity. It is theorized that this epidemic in
obesity is also a factor in the increase of type 1 diabetes. Although
the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is not known, it is widely believed
that type 1 diabetes develops as a result of environmental triggers in
genetically predisposed individuals.

The September 2005 issue of The Medical Journal of Australia examined
the incidence of type 1 diabetes in New South Wales [NSW] from 1990 to
2002. They found that during this 13 year period "the incidence
increased on average by 2.8% per year" after making adjustments for
age group and sex. They note that this increasing trend is more likely
due to "environmental factors" rather than genetics because of the
rapid increase over a relatively short period of time.

"The rising incidence of childhood diabetes in NSW, in keeping with
international data, suggests new or increasing exposure to certain
triggers in at-risk populations. Prospective studies in Australia
investigating the role of cow's milk protein and viruses as early
triggers of ß-cell autoimmunity may provide valuable insight into the
effect of environmental factors on diabetes incidence."

The authors conclude that, "In many of the populations with the
highest incidence of type 1 diabetes, childhood overweight and obesity
are also on the rise. Higher rates of insulin resistance in children
may lead to ß-cell fatigue and destruction, the end-point being
increasing rates of childhood type 1 diabetes. Although these are only
associations and do not prove causality, it is possible that these
trends are linked."

SOURCE: The Medical Journal of Australia, September 5 2005