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Essay on The Increasing Prevelance of Type 2 Diabetes

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Until recently, the common type of diabetes in children and teens was the type 1, little wonder it was called juvenile diabetes. Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is one of the most common chronic, unremitting medical conditions that develop in childhood or adolescence. There is a bimodal age of onset, with the first peak at 4 to 6 years and the second peak in early adolescence. But now younger people are also getting type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But now it is becoming more common in children and teens, due to more obesity. How common is it? Childhood diabetes isn't common, but there are marked variations around the world: • in England and Wales, 17 children per 100,000 develop diabetes …show more content…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the psychosocial effects of diabetes on children, as it is becoming clear that we need to pay attention not only to the disease’s physical effects, but also its mental and social challenges. Psychological effects of diabetes on children Diabetes and depression have been closely linked, as Children with diabetes experience higher rates of depression and other emotional problems than the general population. Specifically, about 15-25% of adolescents with type 1 diabetes experience depression compared to 14.3% in children without a chronic illness, which translates into a rate 2-3 times that found in the general adolescent population. One possible link that explains why depressive symptoms are related to poorer diabetes health outcomes is through self-efficacy. Those with higher depressive symptoms have lower self-efficacy, or the belief that they cannot control their diabetes. If you feel a lack of control it can lead to making unhealthy decisions because you feel that whatever you do, it will not change the outcome. Finally, depression and depressive symptoms not only relate to negative disease outcomes, but are also related to poor overall functioning and low perceived quality of life. Signs

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