Key body change in childhood fuelling alarming rise of diabetes in under 40s READ MORE: Science-backed diet that lowers risk of dementia in women By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline Published: 12:17, 20 September 2024 | Updated: 12:22, 20 September 2024 e-mail View comments Experts have discovered a simple blood test that could predict whether a child will go on to develop diabetes and heart disease in young adulthood. The Danish scientists say offering the check in early years could flag up youngsters most at risk of obesity-related conditions and offer them treatment faster. The experimental test looks for substances called lipids in the blood.
The most well-known blood lipid is cholesterol, which is famously linked to heart disease. However previous research by the same group found there are thousands of different lipids — also known as fatty acids — with different functions in the body. High levels of some of these lipids are linked to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease — and in the new study, these levels were found to begin spiking in childhood.
Danish scientists say offering the check in early years could flag up youngsters most at risk of obesity-related conditions and offer them treatment faster Almost 4.3 million people were living with diabetes in 2021/22, according to the latest figures for the UK. And another 850,000 people have diabetes and are completely unaware of it, which is worrying because untreated type 2 diabetes can lead to c.