Causes of Childhood Diabetes

Posted on: May 15, 2025 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

Causes of Childhood Diabetes

Childhood diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a condition where your child’s body doesn’t produce any or enough insulin in the pancreas. Insulin transfers sugar (or glucose) from the bloodstream to other cells of the body to produce energy. When the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, sugar accumulates in the bloodstream, leading to health complications.

Children diagnosed with diabetes are dependent on frequent insulin injections or an insulin pump. Though there is no permanent cure for Type 1 diabetes in children, the symptoms can be managed properly with regular monitoring of blood sugar and getting insulin doses on time.

Causes of Childhood Diabetes

When the child’s immune system damages the islet cells (cells that produce insulin) in the pancreas, the body can produce little or no insulin. This is when symptoms like increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, weight loss, and irritability start to show.

Childhood diabetes can be of two forms:

• Immune-mediated diabetes – An autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells

• Idiopathic Type 1 – This is a rare form of childhood diabetes which doesn’t have any known cause until now.

Though the exact causes of childhood diabetes are not known, the following are common triggers for childhood Type 1 diabetes:

• Family history of Type 1 diabetes (parents or siblings)

• Genetic factors

• Exposure to certain viruses

• Children of a certain race (for example, white children with a non-Hispanic background)

• Children of certain countries (for example, people from Finland or Sardinia)

• Children in the age group of 4 to 6 or 10 to 14

Conclusion

Watch out for the symptoms of childhood diabetes and ensure your kids receive their insulin injections on time. A delay can lead to health complications like cardiovascular disease, neurological ailments, damage to the kidneys and eyes, and more. Choose your health insurance policy or critical illness insurance plan wisely to cover medical costs and save yourself from financial burden.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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