Children in Quebec are not diagnosed early enough with type 1 diabetes according to a study that reveals a rise in the number of children presenting a life-threatening complication at diagnosis known as Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
DKA is a serious problem that can occur in people with diabetes if their body starts to run out of insulin. This causes harmful substances called ketones to build up in the body, which can be life-threatening if not spotted and treated quickly.
Researchers in Canada looked at the trends of DKA by analysing data provided by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), which focused on the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in patients between the ages of 1 to 17 years, from 2001 to 2014. They identified a total of 5,741 new cases of diabetes among children and adolescents.
The cause in this rise has yet to be established.
Advocacy Action: Ask your Health Minister about the trends in DKA in your country, especially among young people. Use your position to highlight that while diabetes can be controlled, and in type 2 sometimes reversed, the challenge is too many people losing their lives from diabetes early and often after expensive complications, many of which could have been avoided with the right policies in place.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/muhcciq051419.php