The Epidemiology of Childhood-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Romania

Abstract

The ONROCAD Study group was established to provide descriptive epidemiological information on type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) in Romania. Data on all new patients with type 1 DM with onset before age 15 years during the four-year period 1992-1995 in Romania were submitted from all members of the ONROCAD Study Group, representing all doctors and clinics that manage children with DM in Romania. Age- and sex-specific incidence rates were estimated, using available demographic data. A total of 706 new patients with type 1 DM and onset 0-14 years was registered. The overall completeness of ascertainment was estimated at 93.5%. For all Romania, the incidence of childhood-onset type 1 DM was estimated at 3.57/100,000/year. The incidence in the three regions was statistically significantly different (p = 0.002), with high rates in Transylvania and low rates in Muntenia. Girls had a significantly higher incidence than boys for each of the age groups 0-4, 5-9 and 10-14 years. Between these age groups, the incidence increased significantly with age. The incidence of childhood-onset type 1 DM is among the lowest recorded in Europe. Significant, but unexplained, geographical variation exists within Romania. Searches for factors to explain this heterogeneity may provide clues to the etiology of childhood-onset type 1 DM.

An increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Romanian children aged 0 to 17 years

“…The overall mean incidence was 7.4/100,000/year for all the children and 7.8/100,000/year for the age group 0-14 years, 2.2 times higher than it was previously known (6). This places Romania in the group of countries with intermediate incidence of youth-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (1).…”

“…Romania took part in both studies but only with cases from the capital city, Bucharest. The only data regarding epidemiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children from all over Romania were published in 2001 by our group (6), who provided a descriptive analysis of a 4-year interval (1992-1995) for children aged from 0 to 14 years.…”

“…The disclosure of the factors that contribute to this variability may provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. However, there are only a few papers regarding the epidemiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Romania, and these focus on children below 15 years of age (5,6).…”

Time Trends, Regional Variability and Seasonality Regarding the Incidence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Romanian Children Aged 0-14 Years, Between 1996 and 2015

“…In the last two decades, the Romanian Childhood Diabetes Registry was developed, and has provided information from all over the country. According to this source, Romania had a low incidence of the disease, with some regional differences ( 9 ), but the incidence has increased continuously over a 10-year period in children aged 0 to 17 years ( 10 ). The most recent data suggests that Romania may now be included in the group of countries that have a high incidence of pediatric T1DM ( 11 ).…”

Bayesian analysis of the geographical variation of type 1 diabetes mellitus in under 15 yr olds in northeast Spain, 1991-2009

“…The IR of DM1 in childhood shows great variability worldwide (1,2,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10). The highest rates are seen in Finland and Sardinia (Italy) with 40.0 and 37.8 cases/10 5 inhabitants, respectively, and the lowest in Venezuela and China with 0.1 cases/10 5 inhabitants (1).…”