Seasonal variation of diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes mellitus in children worldwide

Abstract

The seasonality of the incidence of Type 1 diabetes mellitus in children under 15 years of age is a real phenomenon, as was reported previously and as is now demonstrated by this large standardized study. The seasonality pattern appears to be dependent on the geographical position, at least as far as the northern/southern hemisphere dichotomy is concerned. However, more data are needed on the populations living below the 30th parallel north in order to complete the picture.

Glycated haemoglobin variations in paediatric type 1 diabetes: the impact of season, gender and age

“…The incidence data on children aged from 0 to 13 years, collected by the World Health Organization DiaMond study, showed that seasonal patterns depend on geographical position (9). Centres further from the equator are more likely to exhibit significant seasonal variations, although most of the data in the study came from the northern hemisphere.…”

High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in school-age children in Tehran, 2008: a red alert

“…Vitamin D deficiency-induced immune dysfunction can bring about such auto-immune disorders as T1DM in children and MS in adults (45) . There are some reports of a higher occurrence of T1DM (46) and MS (47) during the cold seasons and it was related to the lower vitamin D status (48)(49)(50) . Viral infections, which are usually more common during cold seasons, have been proposed as possible aetiologies of T1DM (51)(52)(53) .…”

The epidemiology and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Africa

“…There is a decline during the warm summer months. 49 However, this seasonal pattern only appears to occur in older children and adolescents, suggesting that factors triggering diabetes may be related to school attendance or viral infections. 50 In Africa, as in the rest of the world, there are confounding reports as to whether or not viruses are a significant factor in the aetiology of type 1 diabetes.…”