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Diabetes in special populations

Diabetes in special populations Children and teens

People are usually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before the age of 30 years, most often during childhood or their teens. Type 2 diabetes was once a disease that occurred primarily, if not exclusively, in adults. Today, however, the disease is increasingly appearing in adolescents and even in children. In the next 15 years, it is anticipated that the global incidence of type 2 diabetes in children will increase by up to 50%.


Women

The burden of diabetes on women is unique because the disease can affect both mothers and their unborn children. Diabetes can cause difficulties during pregnancy, such as a miscarriage. For women who do not currently have diabetes, pregnancy brings the risk of gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes develops in approximately 3.7% of all pregnancies (non-Aboriginal women), but disappears when a pregnancy is over. All pregnant women should be screened for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Women who have had gestational diabetes or who have given birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds are at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

High risk groups

People of Aboriginal, Hispanic, Asian, South Asian, or African descent are at particularly high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can indeed “run in families,” meaning that heredity often makes someone more likely to develop diabetes. Researchers believe that certain genes affecting insulin function can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and are present in high risk populations.