Objective: The Registry for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Italy (RIDI) Study Group was established to coordinate the registries of type 1 diabetes in Italy. This report is based on 3,606 children younger than 15 years diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and prospectively registered during 1990-1999 by nine centers, covering >35% of the Italian population.
Research design and methods: Registries were pooled in four geographic macro-areas: north, central, south, and insular. The completeness of registration was assessed by the capture-recapture method. Poisson regression analysis was used to evaluate temporal trend in incidence.
Results: Large variations in incidence were confirmed not only between Sardegna and the mainland but also among peninsular areas. In Sardegna, there was an excess of boys (the boy-to-girl incidence ratio was 1.4). The overall incidence showed average increases of 3.6% (P <0.001) and 3.7% (P <0.001) per year in peninsular Italy and in Sardegna, respectively. Significant increases in incidence rates were found in boys aged 10-14 years (6.7%, 95% CI 0.5-13.3) and in girls aged 5-9 years (6.6%, 0.5-13.1) living in the southern area. The incidence rate also increased in boys aged 10-14 years (5.0%, 0.3-10) and in girls aged 0-4 years (4.9%, 0.8-9.1) living in Sardegna.
Conclusions: Italy is a country with large geographical variations in incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. However, the rates are evenly increasing both in the mainland and Sardegna, suggesting that similar environmental factors are operating over populations that have different genetic backgrounds.