Young adults with type 1 diabetes are at more risk of developing complications from their illness and may be falling away from the healthcare system.

Now, new research starting in Dublin is to look at how patient care might be improved for these 23-30 years.
 
“There has been very little research into this age group”, said Kieran O’Leary, CEO of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland (DFI).

The DFI recently announced that a diabetes research group formed last year is to fund a research project at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland led by Dr Myles Balfe.

This will examine the quality of life in people with type 1 diabetes in the 23-30 year group to find some clues as to what might improve care.
 
“The research project aims to look at the fact that when young adults get to this age, they tend to fall out of the system. And for different reasons, they don’t manage their diabetes well. They then quickly develop complications”, he explained.
 
The researchers will make recommendations on how patient care in this group might be improved.
 
The funding has come from a group set up last year called the Diabetes Ireland Research Alliance. This is a joint funding initiative between the DFI and the UK’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
 
Funding is also being given to another research effort to investigate the mechanisms that lead to the development of type 1 diabetes. This is known as the diabetes genes, autoimmunity and prevention project. The aim is to work towards drug developments to treat or even reverse type 1 diabetes.
 
Details of Irish diabetes research were highlighted at a recent series of public research meetings, according to the DFI consumer magazine, Diabetes Ireland.
 
One promising development is the use of an ‘artificial pancreas’ which can help children with diabetes significantly improve their overnight blood sugar control.
 
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body does not produce enough insulin. It is often diagnosed in young children.

Type 2 diabetes on the other hand, results from high blood sugar caused by a combination of lifestyle and genetic factors. It was known as adult onset diabetes but because of poor lifestyle and obesity, it is more recently being frequently diagnosed in young people.