Doctors identify โKey Signs of Diabetes inโฃ Children
Jakarta,Indonesia – Pediatricโค diabetes is on the rise,and internal โmedicine and endocrine metabolic consultant,Dicky โขStageary,Sp.PD-KEMD, โis urging parents toโค be vigilant for early warning signs. Speaking at โขa health discussion in โฃJakarta on Thursday,Dr. Stageary highlighted several indicators that could signal diabetes in children.
Frequent urination, including bedwetting in older children, is a meaningful symptom, indicating elevated blood sugarโค levels. Dr. Stageary also pointed to physicalโค changes, specifically darkening of the skin around the โneckโ or the back of โthe neck, as a potential sign of insulin resistance – โa precursor to diabetes.โ “Insulin resistance usually starts to appear when you are a teenager. For children, itโ usually looks a bit visible on the neck or nape of โthe neck and it becomes a bit black on โคthe back,” he explained.
A decline in growth,where a child’s weight decreases despite previously healthy growth,is another concerning sign. Dr. Stageary,who also chairs the Metabolic โDisorder,Cardiovascular and Aging (MVA) Cluster at the Faculty of Medicine,University of Indonesia (IMERI-FKUI),noted a shift in the โcauses of childhood diabetes.
“In the past, most of it was due to genetics or type 1 โdiabetes.โ But now with the increasing number of obesity in โchildren,type 2 diabetes is also increasing,” he stated. โขHe also serves as the Chair of the โคOrganizational Division of โthe Indonesian Obesity Study Association (HISOBI).
Dr. Stageary emphasized the importanceโ of regularly monitoring a child’sโ growth curve to detect potential issues early. “It can be recorded that if you have children,โฃ it means you have to diligently include them in the growth curve, โwhether their weight is appropriate for their age or not,” he advised.