Quick Hit
In the UK, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit released its 2013-14 survey results of children with diabetes from England and Wales. The report provides a good snapshot of trends in diabetes care for children with Type 1.
Here are some highlights from the report:
Improved blood sugar levels
Overall, the percentage of children with diabetes who were able to maintain good glycemic control increased by 2.6% from the previous year. Likewise, the number of children with diabetes who had very high A1C levels dropped by 2%.
Complications starting early
The report’s authors sounded the alarm that too many children with diabetes were already showing signs of long-term complications from the condition. 7.1% of children aged 12 and older showed signs pointing to an increased risk in developing kidney disease in the future. 14.1% of children over 12 also showed signs of increased risk of future blindness. Meanwhile, 27.5% of children surveyed already had high blood pressure.
Outreach
Less than half of all children surveyed received any form of psychological assessments or received structured education on how to treat diabetes. Also, about half of all the children surveyed were not screened for thyroid issues or celiac disease.
While the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit finds there is overall improvement in diabetes care among children, that quality of care varied greatly from region to region.
Click here for the full audit report, or here to download a PDF version as well as audits from previous years.
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