On the rise, under-9s hit by diabetes

Children in hospital with deadly complication up by a quarter

SCOTLAND is in the grip of a diabetes crisis, with soaring numbers of adults and children being admitted to hospital for life-saving treatment.

This includes a 25 per cent increase in the number of children aged nine and under who require urgent aid for complications related to the condition.

There were 3,154 emergency hospital admissions in 2017-18 for people suffering from life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), Scottish Government figures show.

This is up 4.85 per cent on the 3,008 patients the previous year. Of last year’s admissions, 84 were children up to the age of nine – up a quarter from 67 in 2016-17.

DKA can occur if the body starts to run out of insulin, which helps use glucose for energy. The body starts to break down other tissue as an alternative energy source, causing poisonous substances known as ketones to build up.

DKA mainly affects people with type 1 diabetes but can occur in type 2 diabetics.

Type 1 is an auto-immune disease, with the immune system attacking cells that produce insulin. It is not linked to being overweight or inactive like type 2, when the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body does not react to it.

Type 2 is more common. Around 30,000 Scots – including 2,000 children – live with type 1 diabetes but it is estimated there are more than 228,000 Scots diabetes patients overall. Previous research suggested the number of youngsters with type 1 was expected to double between 2005 and 2020.

Karen Addington, UK chief executive of diabetes charity JDRF, said: ‘Too many children in Scotland are developing diabetic ketoacidosis, which is often down to a lack of understanding of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes. It is crucial that type 1 is identified early. ‘Symptoms [include] increased thirst, going to the toilet often, tiredness, blurred vision and sudden weight loss.’

DKA causes nausea, vomiting, stomach pains and rapid breathing, and patients can end up in a coma – or dead.

Emma Elvin, Diabetes UK senior clinical adviser, said: ‘DKA happens primarily in people with type 1 diabetes but anyone reliant on insulin can develop it. It can be fatal and anyone who spots symptoms should immediately seek help.’

There was a rise in almost all age groups requiring emergency treatment for DKA, although the number of ten to 14-yearold patients fell from 116 in 2016-17 to 106 in 2017-18. Last night, campaigners warned that the number of patients suffering from DKA was likely to rise given the soaring rates of type 2 diabetes linked to obesity – two-thirds of adults and a third of children are now overweight.

National Obesity Forum spokesman Tam Fry said: ‘If you catch excess weight gain at an early stage the harmful consequences could be avoided – but they aren’t and then we see this rise in emergency treatment. The problem isn’t going to go away any time soon.’

The Scottish Government said: ‘Our Diabetes Improvement Plan sets out our aims and priorities to deliver safe and effective person-centred healthcare treatment and support.’

‘Condition can be fatal’