The number of children diagnosed with diabetes in the Netherlands has doubled over the past 30 years, according to research by paediatrician Angelien Spaans-Hummelink.

‘The research stemmed from a feeling we had that more children were being diagnosed with diabetes,’ she told local broadcaster RTV Noord.

There are some 6,000 children with type 1 diabetes in the Netherlands, and 500 to 550 new cases are identified every year.

Spaans-Hummelink said there is no direct reason about why the number has gone up but says she suspects there is a link with other auto-immune diseases.

‘We know that children with type 1 diabetes are more likely to have another auto-immune disease such as an over or under-active thyroid or a gluten allergy,’ she said.