Introduction: Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. There is a increasing prevalence of diabetes observed worldwide.
Aim of the study: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents from Lower Silesia, Poland.
Material and methods: All patients aged 0-18 years, treated in the Dept. of Endocrinology and Diabetology for Children and Adolescents of Wrocław Medical University, with new-onset diabetes type 1 from 01.01.2000 to 31.12.2005 were involved in this study. Incidence rate (I) was calculated as the number of newly diagnosed cases in 100 000 persons age 0-18 yrs per year. Demographics were taken from Demographic Yearbooks of Lower Silesia.
Results: In the studied period 465 children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Average incidence rate was 12,41/100 000/year, changing from 10,43/100 000 in 2000 to 13,49/100 000 in 2005, the highest I was observed in 2004 (14,91/100 000). The highest incidence rate was revealed in children 10-14 years of age, whereas the highest increase in the incidence rate - within the group of patients of 0-4 years of age. The seasonal incidence was observed with the greater number of diagnoses in autumn and winter.
Conclusions: 1. The incidence rate in Lower Silesia in 2000-2005 was 12,41/100 000/year. 2. In Lower Silesia, the increase in the incidence rate is observed, from 10,43 in 2000 to 13,49 in 2005. 3. The seasonal pattern of diabetes type 1 diagnosis was shown.