Strictly's Nikita Kuzmin in 'daily battle' after being diagnosed with condition at 13

4 weeks ago 9

Strictly Come Dancing pro Nikita Kuzmin - who is dancing with Sam Quek on the BBC show this year - has previously spoken about facing a 'daily battle' with a health condition

Nikita Kuzmin at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2023.

Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin has previously spoken about a health condition (

Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin has been seen sporting a white patch on his arm on Strictly Come Dancing which helps him monitor a serious health condition.

Nikita has previously shared that he was diagnosed Type 1 diabetes at the age of 13. He's since become a fan-favourite on the BBC show and is currently impressing viewers whilst paired up with Olympian Sam Quek.

The 26 year old, who joined Strictly in 2021, doesn't shy away from using his platform to raise awareness about his condition. He's shared that he faces daily challenges due to diabetes and once revealed that he was rushed to hospital as a teenager by his parents after he fell seriously ill one night, as reported by Birmingham Live.

Nikita, who is often seen wearing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor, which monitors his glucose levels, recounted the experience to the Sun earlier this year. He said: "It was quite traumatic because I was diagnosed in the middle of the night." Nikita shared that it happened at around 2am and he had "extremely" high blood sugar levels.

Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin has previously spoken about having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a teenager (

Image:

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

He's been seen sporting a glucose monitoring device on his arm over the years and has raised awareness around diabetes (

Image:

Instagram / nikita__kuzmin)

He continued: "They were spiking, and I had been feeling very ill for about a week." Nikita went on to express his gratitude towards both of his parents for their response, saying that they had suspected it "might be diabetes".

Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes is not associated with age or lifestyle factors. The conditions leads to elevated blood glucose levels and, as of now, remains incurable. Nikita said: "Even now, it's still a daily battle." He however described it as his "biggest superpower" and went on to say that there's "always a way to make things better," crediting his Dexcom G7 sensor for helping him manage the condition "much easier".

Away from his dance career and role on Strictly, Nikita has also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. He finished as runner-up on the latest series of the reality TV show, which aired earlier this year.

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