Study Finds Children With Diabetes More Likely to Develop Eating Disorder
Copyright (c) 2009 Katie Kelley
Scientists have recently made a link between the onset of childhood diabetes and development of an eating disorder later in life. Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia's Prevention Institute are studying the potential link as to the causes behind the connection including prescription drug treatments.
With funding from The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and assistance from Harvard and Emory Universities, researchers will follow 90 diabetic children between the ages of 10 to 17. The researchers will attempt to determine the causes of the over-eating disorder as well as to follow eating patterns, behaviors and "psychological adjustment," according to a Science Daily news article.
Childhood Diabetes
According to the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), type 1 diabetes may be increasing in children and many additional cases of type 2 diabetes are also being reported among children and adolescents.
Additionally, "diabetes is one of the most common diseases in school-aged children" and the National Diabetes Fact Sheet reports that "about 186,300 young people in the U.S. under age 20 had diabetes in 2007." It is imperative that individuals who are responsible for children with diabetes know and learn the signs of the condition as well as treatment options. The following are signs and symptoms of type 1 and type 2 childhood diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic:
* increased thirst
* frequent urination
* extreme hunger
* weight loss
* blurred vision
* slow-healing sores
* frequent infections
* fatigue
Diabetic Drug Risks
While scientists continue to determine as to whether or not the children's diabetic medication is causing the eating disorder side effect, there have, unfortunately, been additional drugs that have been discovered to have damaging risks associated with consumption. For example, a diabetes drug known as Avandia, which was released in May 1999 from GlaxoSmithKline.
Avandia belongs to a new class of type 2 diabetes drugs known as thiazolidinediones. Officials have been investigating the drug and those from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the drug was causing unintended and severe side effects among patients.
Most recently the drug has been subject to another study that was published in a recent issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal in which researchers from the University of East Anglia in Norwich found a strong link to the development of bone fractures and loss of bone density among women.
The research being studied also reinforces the estimated risks commonly attributed to prescription drugs including Avandia. Patients who have suffered from the drug's side effects are encouraged to locate an Avandia attorney to learn how to develop an Avandia class action lawsuit in which monetary compensation may be awarded to a victim of the drug's dangers.
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