Doctors worry as diabetes among children on the rise

Ludhiana: When one-year-old Mansi (name changed) visited the hospital, she was healthy looking, but extremely drowsy, cranky and fatigued. When her haemoglobin was checked, it was found that her blood sugar level was more than 400. The doctors were shocked to see a toddler suffering from such an acute case of diabetes.

At Deep Hospital, children with triple diseases of wheat allergy, diabetes and hypothyroidism have become a common occurrence. The worst part is that the diseases of wheat allergy and hypothyroidism are stemming from diabetes, which in turn, is preventable.

It seems like Ludhiana is suffering from diabetes epidemic, especially in children.

In the recent times, the city has seen an unprecedented surge in the cases of diabetes among children of five to ten years age groups. Dr Baldeep Singh from Deep Hospital shares, “We see two new patients every day. The cases of diabetes among children have increased significantly. Right now, we have more than 100 patients in our ward of children suffering from diabetes.”

Dr Ritu Gupta of Raghunath Hospital said, “We see five to six patients of diabetes every week. Last year, the number was roughly three to four in a month.”

“Earlier, Type-1 diabetes was more prominent in children but now, in Ludhiana, with an increasingly changing lifestyle, Type-2 diabetes is on a rise among children. More and more children are developing a resistance to insulin due to their lifestyle and obesity,” said, Dr Savita Jain.

Another city-based doctor Baldeep said that there is a stark imbalance in the food that we are eating. The fat intake per capita in Ludhiana has increased and more families prefer eating outside due to the vast number of outlets that have emerged in the city. “We are depending more and more on fast food joints like Burger King, KFC, etc. We are intaking a lot of salts and little fibre.”

“The metabolism among children is over the top these days. Children in the city consume soft drinks and chocolates as if they are parts of their staple diet. This has increased truncal obesity, which leads to diabetes. Bottle-feeding from an early age also contributes to developing diabetes among children. Parents also want their children to be ‘chubby’ and ignore the symptoms of diabetes,” said Dr Ritu Gupta.

According to the pediatricians across the city, stress is also leading to surging blood sugar levels and hyperglycemia. With the schools burdening students with academics and extra-curricular activities, the rising levels of stress have been correlated with rise in diabetic children. Pointing out the gravity of the situation, Dr Gursharan said, “There was a time when in our ward there were hardly three to four patients of diabetes. Now, there are only three to four patients who don’t have it.”

Doctors have also noted that Gestational diabetes is on a surge. Dr Savita shared that she sees one to two cases of gestational diabetes every day. “Gestational diabetes has become very common in the city. We need to screen every case because of its widespread nature,” she said.