Incidence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in Greek Cypriot children and adolescents, 1990-1994.

Abstract

Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is one of the most common chronic diseases among children and adolescents worldwide. It has been well established that there are marked geographic differences in the incidence of IDDM, which may provide important clues concerning its as yet unknown etiology. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence of IDDM in the Greek population of Cyprus based on epidemiological data collected during the period 1990-1994. The results of this survey showed that the incidence of IDDM in the Greek population of Cyprus is 10.5/100,000 population under the age of 15 years, which is in agreement with other European countries. There was a slight increase in the number of newly diagnosed patients in 1994. The mean age of onset is 8 years whereas the peak age of onset occurs at 11-12 years. There is a slight overall female predominance but not among children who manifest IDDM before the age of five years in whom males significantly predominate. Distribution by month of onset of IDDM revealed an increased number of cases during autumn and winter as expected.