Type 2 diabetes: the younger it declares itself, the more disastrous the consequences

Our body is made to move, and from an early age. A sedentary lifestyle, associated with a poor diet rich in saturated fatty acids, leads to overweight which will itself lead to type 2 diabetes. This disease, the prevalence of which is increasing in Western societies due to our lifestyles, affects younger and younger people. According to figures from the Diabetic Federation, this disease affected 3.7 million people in France in 2015, and more than 90% of them had type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Melbourne (Australia) have shown that type 2 diabetes 2, which affects children, adolescents and young adults, has disastrous consequences for their health, especially for their blood vessels. The results have been published December 14, 2020 in the magazine Diabetology.

Diabetes reflects lifestyle

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas can no longer produce insulin. Because of this failure with insulin, the body can no longer regulate blood sugar, the concentration of glucose in the blood, which leads to chronic hyperglycemia. Diabetes is not a single disease and falls into three distinct branches:
– Gestational diabetes only affects pregnant women, whether they have a history of diabetes or not. It can lead to complications during pregnancy but disappears once the birth is over.
– Type 1 diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes, also occurs in children and adults. It is manifested by recurrent hyperglycaemia, excessive urges to urinate and intense thirst. Type 1 diabetes can be controlled with insulin given several times a day, regular physical activity and a balanced diet. We also speak of inborn diabetes because it can be present at birth but only manifest itself later.
– Type 2 diabetes, or insulin-resistant diabetes, which is characterized by insulin resistance and recurrent hyperglycaemia. It is favored by a sedentary lifestyle, overweight, obesity and a poor diet too rich in saturated fatty acids. Over time, insulin resistance and chronic high blood sugar can lead to a host of complications, including blood vessel damage.

In general, type 2 diabetes has no preference and attacks all ages. But according to the researchers, for each additional year of age at diagnosis, the chance of dying during the study period decreases by 4%. In themselves, these results are not surprising, since more the longer a person lives with diabetes, the longer the complications accumulate. Yet they still go against the expected results because in general, “older people face more disease-related complications than younger people who are in relatively better shape, but in type 2 diabetes it’s different”, says Jeffrey Mechanick, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Health at Mount Sinai Heart, in New York (USA).

Increased risks when diabetes is early

To find out, the researchers combined the results of 26 studies involving a total of more than 1.3 million people in 30 countries. For some of these studies, the participants, initially aged between 22 and 67, were followed over several decades. Overall, the older people were when they were diagnosed with diabetes, the more positive the results.

The risk of diseases related to damage to blood vessels decreased by 3-5% for each one-year increase in age at diagnosis. This includes serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, and retinopathy.

At one time, type 2 diabetes was primarily a disease of the elderly. However, with the ever-increasing prevalence of obesity, the disease is increasingly being diagnosed in young adults, and even in adolescents and children. When diagnosed in young adults, the disease is often associated with childhood obesity, as well as dietary habits and a lack of physical exercise acquired early in life.

“It is important that young people with type 2 diabetes follow up regularly with their doctors in order to optimize their cardiovascular risk factors.“, underlines Joanna Mitri, endocrinologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and professor at Harvard Medical School. According to her, it is essential that young people do not underestimate the risks of diabetes complications, by controlling their blood sugar , but also their blood pressure and cholesterol.