Published Thursday, 28 May 2009
If present trends continue, the numbers in 2020 are predicted to be double what they were four years ago, say experts.
Around 15,000 new cases of insulin-dependent, or Type 1 diabetes were recorded across the whole of Europe in 2005.
Of these, 24% were children up to the age of four, 37% children aged five to nine, and 34% children aged 10 to 14.
Researchers found that the overall incidence of the disease was increasing by almost 4% per year.
The increase in the 0-4 age group was 5.4% with a 4.3% rise in the 5-9 age group and a 2.9% increase among ten to 14-year-olds.
A total of 24,400 new cases were forecast for 2020, with a doubling in the number of cases of children aged five and under since 2005.
Numbers of child sufferers older than five were also expected to increase substantially.
Lifestyle
Scientists say the changes are too fast to be explained by genetic factors alone.
They suggest lifestyle factors may be partly responsible, including a trend towards women having bigger babies and increased numbers of Caesarean section births.
Higher increases were seen in eastern Europe, where lifestyle habits were changing more rapidly than in the richer European countries.
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are attacked by the body's own defences.
Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which is driven by diet and obesity, Type 1 is not normally linked to lifestyle.
Around two million people in the UK suffer from diabetes, of whom 300,000 have the Type 1 disease.
The research authors, led by Dr Christopher Patterson, from Queen's University, Belfast, wrote:
"More patients with severe diabetes complications presenting at younger ages than before are.. likely, and appropriate care from diagnosis, and maintenance of good metabolic control are crucial for delay or prevention of these adverse complications.
"In the absence of any effective means to prevent Type 1 diabetes, European countries need to ensure appropriate planning of services and that resources are in place to provide high-quality care for the increased numbers of children who will be diagnosed with diabetes in future years."
In an accompanying comment, Dr Dana Dabelea, from the Colorado School of Public Health in Denver, US, said the research pointed towards "harmful changes in the environment in which contemporary children live."
The researchers analysed diabetes data from 20 centres in 17 European countries.