Shameful rate of T2D in Indigenous youth
Australia has the dubious honour of reporting the highest rate of youth-onset type 2 diabetes in the world – a crude prevalence of 6·7 per 1000 Indigenous youth across northern Australia.
The prevalence of youth-onset type 2 diabetes during 2016-17 was higher among females than males, and higher in 15–24 year-olds than under 15 year-olds.
“Within Central Australia, the estimated prevalence among females was 23·0 cases per 1000 (95% CI 18·4–28·3) and among people aged 15–24 years was 31·1 cases per 1000,” the study said.
The median HbA1c was a high 9·7% in all regions – “suggesting a concerning trajectory ahead without intervention.”
“We report a very high prevalence of type 2 diabetes among First Nations youth in northern Australia, arguably the highest reported prevalence in any population of youth internationally within the past 25 years.”
“The high proportion of young people with overweight or obesity further supports the need for early primary prevention and reduction of cardiometabolic risk.”
Read more in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
Central precocious puberty drug listed on PBS
Children with central precocious puberty can now access the GnRH- agonist triptorelin (Diphereline) via the PBS.
From 1 November, the 22.5 mg injection is subsidised for girls 11 years or younger and boys 12 years or younger, whose central precocious puberty symptoms started before their 9th and 10th birthdays, respectively.
Patients must be treated by a paediatric endocrinologist, an endocrinologist specialising in paediatrics, or a medical practitioner who has consulted with one of the former endocrinologists, according to the PBS listing.