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Increasing Incidence of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Among Canadian Children
Alexandra Cohen1, Elise Mok2, Marc Simard3
1Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Insights
The incidence of childhood diabetes in Montreal is rising, primarily driven by an increase in type 1 diabetes (T1D). This trend in pediatric diabetes warrants further investigation into its causes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent chronic illness in children.
- Global incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) shows significant variation.
- Understanding regional trends in pediatric diabetes is crucial for public health planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in the incidence of all types of diabetes among children and adolescents in the Greater Montréal area.
- To specifically examine the incidence trends of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes in this pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Utilized health administrative data and medical records from major pediatric diabetes centers in Greater Montréal.
- Conducted serial cross-sectional studies on children aged 1 to 15 years between 2002 and 2010.
- Employed multivariate Poisson regression models for trend analysis of diabetes incidence over time.
Main Results:
- Identified 696 new diabetes cases between 2002 and 2010.
- Observed a significant increase in the age-standardized incidence of all diabetes types, from 16.3 to 27.8 per 100,000 children.
- Documented an average annual increase of 5.2% in overall diabetes incidence, predominantly driven by a 5.4% annual rise in type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Conclusions:
- The annual incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is increasing among children in Québec.
- No significant variations in T1D incidence were observed based on sex or age.
- Further research into the etiologic factors contributing to the rising T1D incidence is recommended.
Background:
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common pediatric chronic illnesses. Although a rising incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) has frequently been documented, an almost 400-fold variation in incidence has been seen worldwide. We aimed to describe the trends in incidence of diabetes (type 1, type 2, all types) among children and adolescents living in the Greater Montréal area of Québec, Canada.
Methods:
Using health administrative data (Québec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System) and medical records from the 3 major pediatric diabetes centres in the Greater Montréal area, we conducted serial cross-sectional studies of children aged 1 to 15 years during the period from 2002 to 2010. We conducted a trend analysis of diabetes incidence over time using multivariate Poisson regression models.
Results:
We identified 696 new cases of diabetes between 2002 and 2010. The age-standardized incidence of diabetes (all types) increased from 16.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.4 to 21.2) to 27.8 (95% CI, 22.5 to 34.0) per 100,000, with annual incidence increasing, on average, by 5.2% per year (adjusted rate ratio [aRR], 1.052; 95% CI, 1.022 to 1.083). This was driven predominantly by the T1D annual increase of 5.4% (aRR, 1.054; 95% CI, 1.023 to 1.086). A low number of incident cases of type 2 diabetes limited trend analysis in this group. There were no significant interactions between year and sex or age.
Conclusions:
The annual incidence of T1D is increasing in Québec children and does not vary by sex or age. Further research into etiologic factors is indicated.
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