The incidence of Type 1 diabetes – which is mostly common in children and adolescents – is higher in Malta than it is in any other Mediterranean region, with the exception of Sardinia, according to Stephen Fava, head of Mater Dei hospital’s diabetes and endocrine section.
Speaking during a media conference regarding World Diabetes Day, which will be marked tomorrow, Dr Fava said the incidence of Type 1 diabetes is higher in northern European regions than it is in southern Europe.
Dr Fava said that of the estimated 440,000 cases of Type 1 diabetes in children worldwide, more than a quarter live in south-east Asia, and more than a fifth in Europe.
With the exception of Sardinia, where the situation is more similar to regions with the highest incidence levels in northern Europe, the incidence of Type 1 diabetes in Malta is comparable to the situation in countries like the UK and Belgium.
About 9.2 Maltese people (mostly children and adolescents) per 100,000 are known to be sufferers of Type 1 diabetes, said Dr Fava, adding that nobody really knows why the incidence of this type of diabetes is so high in Malta, compared to the relatively low levels of incidence in other Mediterranean regions.
Dr Fava explained that although there is no cure to diabetes as yet, it can be controlled and complications avoided if people eat healthily and exercise regularly.
The United Nations General Assembly passed a landmark resolution recognising diabetes as a chronic, debilitating and costly disease last December. This is the first year that World Diabetes Day is being observed as a UN day.
This year’s theme is diabetes in children and adolescents. Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. It can strike children at any age, including pre-school children and even toddlers.
Chris J. Delicata, vice-president of the International Diabetes Federation, said that today, about 245 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes and this number is expected to grow to 380 million by 2025.
Type 1 diabetes is growing by three per cent per year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming five per cent per year among pre-school children, said Mr Delicata.
He said that among the initiatives to mark World Diabetes Day more than 100 monuments worldwide will be lit up in blue. In Malta, the building housing the Museum of Archaeology in Republic Street, Valletta, will be lit up in blue today and tomorrow.
President Emeritus Guido de Marco, a former president of the UN General Assembly, also addressed yesterday’s media conference, saying diabetes is spreading “almost beyond control”.
Anna Zammit McKeon, president of the Maltese Diabetes Association mentioned the psychological problems faced by children suffering from diabetes, particularly at school, since they are often emarginated due to their condition.
Type 2 diabetes is also a growing problem in children, particularly due to our sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits, she said.
Ms Zammit McKeon said that according to the International Diabetes Foundation, 50 per cent of child sufferers go on to develop complications about 12 years after they discover they are diabetic.