2007年VOA标准英语-Diabetes Increasing in Children Worldwide

By Carol Pearson
Washington, D.C.
28 June 2007
 

The World Health Organization has been gathering¹ information on diabetes² for more than 20 years.  Its findings show that diabetes is second only to asthma³ as the most common chronic⁴ childhood disease.  New research shows a racial divide when it comes to what type of diabetes a child is most likely to get.  VOA's Carol Pearson has more.

Doctors diagnose about 15,000 children annually5 with type one diabetes

Each year in the United States, doctors diagnose about 15,000 children ages 10 to 14 with type 1 diabetes, meaning their bodies cannot make the hormone⁶ insulin that regulates blood sugar.

Compare this to fewer than 4,000 American children and teens diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year.   With type 2 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin that is produced.

Thirteen-year-old Sierra Horecky has type 1 diabetes. She was diagnosed almost three years ago after she fell into a coma⁷. 

"I was really surprised, and I guess I was kinda mad,” says Horecky.  “I was, like, 'Why me?' I guess."

Dr. Dana Dabelea is a researcher at the University of Colorado. She does not have all the answers to Sierra's question, but she has some clues.

"We found that type 1 diabetes is very, very common in all racial (and) ethnic⁸ groups, but especially in white kids," says Dabelea.

She says Caucasian children in general have a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes than children of other races. And, while race may be a factor in Sierra's illness, the cause is still a mystery.

"For type 1 diabetes, unfortunately, there is no current prevention because, unfortunately, we do not know what causes type 1 diabetes yet," adds Dabelea.

obesity9 may be driving up the frequency of both type one and type two diabetes in children and teenagers." hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070704/1126211.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Researchers suspect that the increasing rates of childhood obesity may be driving up the frequency of both type one and type two diabetes in children and teenagers.

Research shows strong genetic¹⁰ risk factors for both types of diabetes.   Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes worldwide, although it is much more common in adults than in children.  Health officials have tracked an increase in diabetes in all parts of the world at the same time they have seen a marked increase in obesity worldwide.  In the United States, children with type 2 diabetes are more likely to be African American, American Indian, Hispanic, or Asian American.

"Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset¹¹ diabetes, and did not used to occur in children.  However, we are now seeing type 2 diabetes at younger and younger ages."

Researchers found that babies whose mothers have diabetes are more likely to become obese¹². They suspect the increasing rates of childhood obesity may be driving up the frequency of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and teenagers.

Dr. Dabelea participated in a nationwide research group on diabetes.  The study has been published in the Journal of the America Medical Association.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

3 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

4 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

5 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

6 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

7 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

10 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

11 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

12 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。