Nearly 70 registries from more than 40 countries have collected and published incidence data of childhood Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus up to the end of the 1980s. The majority of incidence data comes from regions of high incidence i.e. from Europe and North America. All these published data facilitate the descriptive comparison of incidence and variation of the occurrence of Type 1 diabetes roughly throughout the northern hemisphere. The aim of this paper is to review and compare the most recent epidemiology data on the incidence of Type 1 diabetes among children under the age of 15 years. A clear difference in incidence appeared between northern and southern hemisphere with no countries below the equator having an incidence greater than 15.0 per 100,000. In contrast above the equator the disease is common. Between continents the variation in incidence showed that the lowest incidences were found in Asia, followed by Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), South and North America, and the highest rates were in Europe. The incidence varied from 0.6 per 100,000 in Korea and Mexico to 35.3 per 100,000 in Finland showing prominent worldwide variation in incidence of Type 1 diabetes. The largest intracontinental variation in incidence appeared in Europe, varying from the highest in Finland to the lowest (4.6 per 100,000) in northern Greece. The highest incidence in the world was in northern Europe, but within the continent scale there were some striking exceptions from the overall level of incidence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Skeletal mass is a major determinant of susceptibility to osteoporotic fracture in menopause. At menopause, the skeletal mass is the resultant of the Peak Skeletal Mass (PSM) reached early adulthood minus the bone mass lost through the process of Adult Bone Loss (ABL). Current interventions for the maintenance of skeletal resilience in advanced age address the ABL peri- or postmenopausally. This study indicates that the effects of milk consumption in childhood and adolescence on bone density may manifest as higher bone density decades later in menopause. The assumed mechanism of the reported effect is through augmentation of the PSM, and acquisition of favorable nutritional habits which may influence the extent of ABL.

Serum lead, whole blood lead, and lead in both tibia and calcaneus were measured in each of 49 active lead workers. Serum lead correlated more strongly with both in vivo bone lead measurements than did whole blood lead. The ratio of serum lead to whole blood lead varied from 0.8% to 2.5% and showed a positive correlation with tibia, and an even stronger correlation with calcaneus lead. This implies that lead released from bone (endogenous exposure) results in a higher proportion of whole blood lead being in serum than is the case for exogenous exposure. This observation needs to be confirmed, and the relationships amongst the parameters must be studied further, particularly in former or retired lead workers. If confirmed, since at least a portion of lead in serum is readily diffusible and thus toxicologically more immediately significant than lead bound to red cells, the health implications of endogenous exposure may have to be reassessed. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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