St. Louis-based Express-Scripts a pharmacy benefit management company, released a study indicating that the number of children taking prescription medication to combat type 2 diabetes has doubled in recent years. Reviewing the records of more than 3.7 million children age 5 to 19 in their own database, they have charted a doubling of prescription medications used to treat type 2 diabetes: from 0.3 per thousand in 2002, to 0.6 per thousand in 2005.
“This study is the first of its kind to reveal the long-suspected national increase in the prevalence of children at risk for diabetes,” said Emily Cox, PhD, Express Scripts senior director of research, and the study’s lead author.
Drawing on a huge database, asking such a straightforward set of questions, this study is one of the clearest. Since it includes only those young people already diagnosed and prescribed medications for treatment it is no doubt the tip of a very large iceberg.
The rise in diabetes medication use was most pronounced among pre-adolescents, with prevalence of diabetes treatment jumping 106 percent among 10- to 14-year-olds. We hear how it’s not “adult onset” anymore, but these data show us how severe the problem really is.
The study does not address what may be causing the increase; but authors assume it is rapid growth in childhood obesity (today 1/3 of all North and South American children are overweight; by 2010 it is assumed the figure will be closer to 50 percent), and they blame ever-more-sedentary lifestyles and the increasing availability of junk food.