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Children under 14 years old are at increasing risk of receiving a type 1 diabetes diagnosis as it increases by three percent every year worldwide, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“These figures are both concerning and reassuring because on one hand it shows that type 1 diabetes may be on the increase, but on the other hand, the figures also indicate that more children under the age of 14 years who have type 1 diabetes are being diagnosed, which suggests earlier intervention than possibly what was happening previously,†said Diabetes NSW Head of Community and Consumer, Trish Egan.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin – the hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Receiving a diabetes diagnosis early is beneficial for anyone with diabetes so they can start working to prevent complications.

“The sooner someone is diagnosed with diabetes – whether it is type 1 or type 2 – the sooner they will receive the care they need and be in a better position to prevent the associated complications. This equates to saving individual, communities and governments trillions of dollars each year,†said Mrs Egan.