MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Chinese teenagers exhibit rates of diabetes nearly 4 times higher than U.S. teenagers, according to a new report from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.
The study is the longest of its kind of China, following more than 29,000 patients in 300 communities from 1989 to 2011, using data from the China Health & Nutrition Surveys.
The results, published in Obesity Reviews, suggest that 15% of Chinese children aged 7-17 have symptoms of pre-diabetes, and 2% are diabetic.
"The findings suggest a very high burden of chronic disease risk starting at a young age, with 1.7 million Chinese children ages 7-18 having diabetes and another 27.7 million considered prediabetic," lead investigator Barry Popkin said in prepared remarks. "In addition, more than one-third of children under age 18 had high levels of at least one cardiometabolic risk factor."
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