A recent study published in Diabetes Care shows that the number of adolescents (under the age of 20) with diabetes in the United States has continued to increase in recent years.
The study predicts that if the trend continues to increase at the same rate, then 220,000 adolescents in the United States will have type 2 diabetes in 2060.
As a comparison, 28,000 adolescents in the United States had type 2 diabetes in 2017.
There may also be a 65% increase in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Researchers stated that people with diabetes are at risk for occasional complications such as kidney failure, heart disease and stroke, which would pose a significant public health burden.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that the increase in type 2 diabetes may be linked to the rising prevalence of childhood obesity and maternal diabetes, both of which increase the risk of diabetes in adolescents.
