2023-11-14 12:04:00
The number of cases of diabetes recorded in children and adolescents has increased considerably since the Covid-19 pandemic in several Western countries. This is the case in Belgium.
As a reminder, this chronic disease is manifested by a high blood sugar level (> 7mmol/l on an empty stomach). It occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar concentration, or the body does not properly use the insulin it produces.
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“For several years, the number of patients has been increasing,” confirms Dr. Chantal Mathieu, Chair of Endocrinology at the Gasthuisberg University Hospital in Louvain. First there is type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease typical of adolescents and children, which is becoming more and more aggressive in these two categories but which is increasing especially in children under 5 years old. And we don’t really know why, but it’s possible that surrounding factors have an impact. Then, we notice that type 2 diabetics are also increasing, and this is linked to the fact that people are getting older and older in Belgium, that we move less and that excess weight is gaining ground.”
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“The Covid epidemic is one of the avenues”
In recent months, several studies have in fact revealed an increased increase in the number of cases among young people since the health crisis, but the explanations remain relatively unclear. Constantly increasing, at a rate of 3 or 4% per year, for the last two decades already, the number of cases of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents therefore seems to have increased even more since the Covid-19 crisis.
“The covid epidemic is one of the avenues,” continues the woman who is also President of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. What we have seen is an increased aggressiveness of the presentation of type 1 diabetes, there are suggestions that viruses can trigger an attack by the immune system against the beta cell that produces insulin, which is the main cause of this type of diabetes. And several viruses are incriminated behind this phenomenon, we are also talking about enteroviruses in addition to covid-19.”
Diabetes, a growing but still little-known pathology
The other problem in Belgium is the lack of screening of the number of cases. Indeed, no reliable register is available while the burden of this pathology will increase throughout the world, aggravated in particular by social and geographic inequalities and discrimination. According to the WHO, 8.5% of the adult population worldwide is affected by diabetes. A figure which has more than doubled since 1980 due to excess weight.
“We still don’t have an official diabetes registry and that’s a problem,” she laments. We are coming out of a meeting with Sciensano and we have decided to launch projects to request links between medical records and mutual insurance companies for insulin prescriptions with the aim of knowing the precise figure of the number of patients affected. When we look at the proportion within the adult population, we know that between 5 and 10% are affected. Among the risk groups, we can cite obese people, people over 45 and populations of North African or Turkish origin.
“Diabetes does not prevent me from doing sports, on the contrary”
Jimmy Minet, suffering from type 1 diabetes and aged 39, does not let his diabetes get him down. On the contrary, the illness even fueled his sporting ambitions.
Jimmy Minet – 1000 days of racing ©Devaux
According to a survey commissioned by Dexcom and carried out by Ivox, we learn that the majority of patients with type I diabetes have their condition under control.
And for many, regular exercise is also a way to cope with their diagnosis. This is the case of Jimmy, suffering from type 1 diabetes and aged 39. “Today, if I am able to better manage my diabetes, it is thanks to sport,” confides the man who is also a teacher. This helps me control it and eliminate sugar through exercise. I run an average of 20 kilometers per day. Moreover, I speak with many diabetics and I notice that many forbid themselves from sport for fear of having hypoglycemic attacks, which is a serious mistake in my opinion. Indeed, if the risk does indeed exist, with good preparation, anything is possible, I am proof of that”.
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However, according to the survey, we also learn that half of the respondents experience uncertainty and incomprehension after the diagnosis. 3 out of 10 patients even feel ashamed because of their diabetes. And half of them also face incomprehension from those around them regarding their diagnosis and have the feeling that diabetes is stigmatized.
“I had a complicated journey because I had little knowledge about it,” says Jimmy. I first went to my GP who told me that I should limit sugars as much as possible but in my opinion, sugar is limited to sweets and other treats. I later realized that it was much wider than that, that it was also found in pasta, rice, etc. This is information that I have learned over time, so there is a lack of awareness and information towards patients, especially early in the disease process”.
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