New developments in the treatment of type 1 diabetes in children

oth type 1 and type 2 diabetes can occur in children and adolescents. Of the 230 million people affected by diabetes worldwide, 4.9 million have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is the most common chronic disease in children in the developed countries. Classification of childhood diabetes has become increasingly difficult as better measures of genetic testing have identified different forms of monogenetic diabetes masquerading as type 1 diabetes. Also the distinction between type 1 and 2 is not always clear-cut, particularly in overweight adolescents. Every year approximately 70 000 children under the age of 15 develop type 1 diabetes worldwide. The paediatric incidence of type 1 diabetes is growing by 3-5% each year. ''Diabetes is different in children'' is the motto of World Diabetes Day announced by the International Diabetes Federation following the United Nations resolution on diabetes in December 2006 and dedicating the next triennium to diabetes in children and adolescents. Recent developments indicate that the efforts of diabetes teams implementing the new approaches in paediatric diabetes care are successful.