Diabetes in children in the US

Some random thoughts about all this:

* These dismal statistics clearly show that the epidemic of diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, has hit our children.

* The lack of glucose control that teenagers were found is unsurprising to diabetes professionals, who know that teens and diabetes control are like water and oil: unlikely to mix.

* While we usually think of type 2 diabetes as an adult disorder, the data presented about type 2 diabetes in children mean that the US will have ever-growing numbers of diabetic young adults as these children grow up, and the costs associated with diabetes will inevitably rise.

* Can we do anything to reverse these numbers? It's unclear if type 1 diabetes can be prevented, but clearly the other epidemic (of obesity) is contributing to the increase of type 2 diabetes in children as well as in adults. Changing society's mind-set to encourage healthy foods and more exercise seems a daunting task, but other societal behaviors are changing: seatbelts are now commonly available and worn, and cigaret smoking is decreasing. Perhaps the public health authorities can tackle childhood obesity and someday we'll see lesser numbers of obese kiddies waddling around, and their A1Cs may be normal instead of spectacularly elevated.

* But for the foreseeable future, pediatricians and other physicians caring for children and teenagers will have to be on the lookout for diabetes -- it's there, and it's becoming more common.