Can the high risk of type I diabetes in Finland be explained by familial aggregation and by HLA haplotype distribution? Study Group on Childhood Diabetes in Finland.

Abstract

Finland is the country which has the highest incidence of Type I (insulin dependent) diabetes in the world. The age-adjusted annual incidence in 1977 to 1984 was 30 per 100,000 in the age group 0–15 years (1). Finland is also one of the countries in the world where the incidence of Type I diabetes is rapidly increasing. The latest data from 1986 to 1987 indicate that the incidence is now about 40 per 100,000 which means about 350 new cases per year.