Chapter 4

Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes

Lars C. Stene

Lars C. Stene

Department of Chronic Diseases, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

Oslo Diabetes Research Centre, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

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Jaakko Tuomilehto

Jaakko Tuomilehto

Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

National School of Public Health, Madrid, Spain

Diabetes Research Group, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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First published: 12 January 2024

Summary

Type 1 diabetes in most cases results from an immune-mediated destruction of the pancreatic β cells due to an unknown cause leading to a lifelong requirement for insulin treatment. This occurs after a pre-clinical period of varying length when autoantibodies to insulin, glutamine acid decarboxylase, insulinoma-associated antigen 2, and other islet autoantigens can be detected. Type 1 diabetes may occur at any age and the incidence rate varies by age. The incidence of type 1 diabetes among children shows a vast geographical variation worldwide, with high rates in the Nordic countries and Kuwait, and low in South-East Asia and parts of South America. Most countries have experienced an increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes among children over recent decades, with differences in time trends between countries and calendar periods.

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