Childhood diabetes rates are rising globally. How does Europe compare?

The number of children with diabetes has surged nearly 40 per cent worldwide since 1990 – and kids are more likely to have the condition in Finland than anywhere else, according to a new analysis.

Globally in 2021, more than 222,000 children under age 15 had type 1 diabetes, a chronic autoimmune condition that requires daily insulin injections to manage. It cannot be prevented through diet or exercise, unlike type 2 diabetes in many cases.

However, while the number of children with type 1 diabetes has risen steadily in recent decades, mortality has fallen to 4,280 deaths in 2021, according to the study, which included kids under age 15 and was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The trend reflects “advancements in management and care,” Dr Xiaodong Sun, one of the study’s authors and a clinical researcher at the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University in China, told Euronews Health.

But even so, “addressing childhood diabetes prevention remains complex,” Sun said.

Childhood diabetes can also have serious consequences later in life, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, vision issues, foot problems due to damaged nerves, and other health conditions.

The diabetes burden is still growing. Globally, childhood diabetes incidence rose slightly between 2019 and 2021, from 10.9 to 11.1 per 100,000, the study found. Eastern Europe saw a bigger increase than any other region.

There was also wide variation across Europe, according to the underlying data from the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Finland had the highest rate worldwide, with nearly 70 children under age 15 having type 1 diabetes per 100,000 kids in 2021, the data shows.

Access to care could be a factor. Most people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes live in high-income countries, potentially because patients there have an easier time getting a timely diagnosis, researchers say.

Other researchers have suggested that the environment could play a role. Northern countries like Finland get less exposure to ultraviolet radiation through sunlight, which could be protective against diabetes as it appears to slow down the body’s immune response.

A handful of other European countries also had incidence rates over 30: Malta, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and Spain.

Meanwhile, Central and Eastern European countries tended to have lower childhood diabetes incidences, including Belarus, Moldova, Romania, and Lithuania, all of which had rates of 10 or lower in 2021.

Other regions are hit even harder by childhood diabetes. South Asia, particularly India, had more cases than anywhere else, while the death rate was highest in eastern sub-Saharan Africa.

The “burden remains substantial” in low- and middle-income countries, Sun said, pointing to the importance of early interventions like genetic risk monitoring and new immunotherapy treatments.

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“These measures are vital for improving outcomes and reducing the global impact of childhood diabetes,” Sun said.