PUNE: The cases of type 1 diabetes in children are on the rise in the city.
“I would hardly come across any child with type 1 diabetes during the school health programmes in Pune 5-7 years ago. However, I get to see at least one to two children in a screening of every 2,000 children in the age bracket of 3-15 years in a school health programme now,” paediatrician Anuradha Khadilkar said.
As per the latest
International Diabetes Federation's (IDF) Atlas 2017, India now has 1.28 lakh registered diabetic children, which is only second to the US.
This number, experts said, was an underestimation of the actual prevalence as many children in India have not been getting diagnosed even today. “There is a possibility that the rise in cases is due to the better diagnostic technology and increased awareness,” Khadilkar said.
There is no database for Pune, but around 1 in every 1,000 children has type 1 diabetes, experts said.
The latest treatment modalities have improved the sugar control. “Major improvement in type 1 diabetes management is through technological advances in monitoring of blood glucose and in
insulin delivery systems,” paediatric endocrinologist Supriya Phanse said.