Epidemic of ‘early onset’ diabetes hits Britons under 40

RECORD numbers of young adults are being diagnosed with diabetes because of the obesity epidemic.

One in eight new cases is now in the 18-40 age group, a major study revealed last night.

It found that they were significantly more likely to be overweight than those who only develop type 2 diabetes in later life. They also have higher blood pressure and more ‘bad’ cholesterol, putting them at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Campaigners demanded government action, saying diabetes was ‘no longer a middle-aged disease’.

The study, which examined the health records of more than 370,000 UK patients, was carried out by the University of Leicesconsidered ter and Melbourne University.

It found that the 18-40 age group accounted for 12.5 per cent of type 2 diabetes diagnoses in 2017. That is almost a third higher than the 9.5 per cent rate in 2000.

Sanjoy Paul, a Melbourne professor, warned that ‘young-onset’ diabetes was especially aggressive and warranted extra medication. He said: ‘I would suggest that young people with type 2 diabetes should be put on statins. It is a public health timebomb that is only going to get worse because of rising levels of obesity.’

The study found that about three quarters of younger adults with type 2 had dangerously high levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.

But only 4 per cent were on lipidlowering drugs such as statins.

The research also showed nearly three quarters were obese, compared with fewer than half of those diagnosed with type 2 in their 70s. And 58 per cent of the under-40s had dangerously high blood sugar levels compared with 34 per cent in the higher age bracket.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said: ‘Twenty years ago type 2 diabetes used to be a disease of the middle-aged. But no longer.

‘The Government should now implement what the UK’s top paediatricians are recommending: that every child’s BMI body mass index is monitored annually for excess weight gain throughout its school years.’

NHS data shows that levels of diabetes are at their highest on record. The number of new cases in England and Wales hit 202,665 in 2017. Around 113,000 under-40s are now living with the disease.

Scotland, where nearly 9,000 under-40s have the disease, saw 17,000 new cases in 2017.

Faye Riley of Diabetes UK said: ‘Type 2 diabetes is serious, and this research stresses the particularly dangerous nature of the condition in those diagnosed at a younger age. We already know type 2 is particularly aggressive in younger people, and they are more likely to develop complications and respond poorly to treatment.

‘Although family history and ethnicity play a part, there is a clear link between growing waistlines and the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in younger people. That’s why we need urgent action to tackle the obesity crisis.’

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Our commitment to supporting people to stay healthy is clear. Through our world leading childhood obesity plans we are reducing children’s exposure to sugary and fatty foods, getting them moving more in schools and funding councils to find innovative local solutions.

‘Our diabetes prevention programme has also had real success in helping people to lose weight – and 200,000 more people now have access to support and advice to manage their weight.’

There is growing evidence that type 2 diabetes can be reversed if patients lose significant amounts of weight. The NHS is carrying out a trial in which patients are given soups and shakes, totalling 850 calories a day, for five months.

The latest study was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Barcelona.