The EURODIAB studies on childhood diabetes 1988–1999

Abstract

The EURODIAB (EUROpe and DIABetes) research activities on the epidemiology and prevention of diabetes were established in 1988 as a European Community Concerted Action initative under the Fourth Medical and Health Research Programme [1, 2]. As part of the EURODIAB programme, a collaborative network was established to characterise the epidemiology and aetiopathogenesis of Type I (insulindependent) diabetes mellitus. These research activities, subsumed under EURODIAB Sub-area A, were subsequently continued as separate concerted actions under the acronyms EURODIAB ACE (Aetiological Contribution to Type I diabetes on an Epidemiological basis), 1992±1996, and EURODIAB TIGER (Type I Genetic Epidemiology Resource), 1996±1999.EURODIAB research on childhood diabetes has been carried out through a network of partners, with a central co-ordinating office located in Odense, Denmark. The working modalities have comprised standardised procedures and protocols, collaboration with centralised laboratory facilities, workshops, site visits and meetings, newsletters as well as a series of grant programmes to facilitate research training and development.The core activities involved establishing a network for the registration of newly diagnosed children with Type I diabetes in geographically well-defined regions within Europe. Starting with 26 partners in 1989, the network had 44 centres contributing fully or partly to the incidence registration by mid-1999. The corresponding population coverage represents about 30 million children and most European nations. This has allowed a characterisation of the geographical distribution of Type I diabetes as well as investigations into temporal trends in incidence [3±7].Within the framework of the network, partnerships, formed to address research in related areas, have produced new information on familial and genetic factors, clinical characteristics at disease onset and possible associations between childhood Type I diabetes and other diseases as well as insights and possible non-genetic determinants [8±16]. Numerous additional publications from the individual network partners, whose data and results have emerged partly through the collaboration, have appeared over the years.This TIGER Supplement marks 10 years of the EURODIAB collaboration on Type I diabetes, a time when the series of contracts with the European Commission is also coming to an end. It contains new data and results from the study group as well as papers from individual network partners. It has been produced to illustrate the importance of applying epidemiological methodology in the continuous research efforts to unravel the causes and pathogenesis of Type I diabetes. The results testify to the potential that exists in Europe for this kind of research. The huge geographical variability in the distribution of the disease as well as the distinct features of trends in the incidence emerge from the accumulated data.An epidemiological approach and the continued monitoring of the incidence of Type I diabetes in network activities l...

Changing Prevalence of Overweight Children and Adolescents at Onset of Insulin-Treated Diabetes

“…This requires validation by an update of the population-based registry. The BMI data demonstrate an increase in the prevalence of excess weight in children diagnosed with diabetes, as is also seen in the general population and is contemporaneous with the worldwide increased incidence of type 1 diabetes (27). Our data support a potential mechanistic link between excess weight gain and increasing frequency and earlier onset of type 1a diabetes with the age decreasing to include most of early childhood (28).…”

“…The incidence of insulintreated diabetes in adolescents in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, increased more than threefold from the early 1980s to 1994 (15), which is concurrent with an increase in incidence of type 1 diabetes in children reported around the world (27). Our data from the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Registry, which has previously been shown to be representative of the Allegheny County population, reveal an apparent continued increase in these numbers.…”

Diabetes in the young: a paediatric and epidemiological perspective

“…To collect these data the EURODIAB collaborative group was established in 1988 [21,22]. The network consists of 44 European centres covering about 30 million children and most European nations.…”

Diabetes mellitus in childhood: an emerging condition in the 21st century

“…9 The EURODIAB (Europe and Diabetes) and DIAMOND (Diabetes Mondiale) programs, introduced in the 1980s, enabled the characterization of DM1 in relation to its geographic distribution, genetic and family factors, clinical features of the disease at diagnosis, and associations with other diseases, as well as proposing speculation about possible non-genetic determinants. [10][11][12] By the end of the 1990s, a difference of more than 350 times in the incidence of DM1 was already being reported among the 100 populations analyzed, noting that the incidence was higher in the 10-14 years age range in most of them. However, over time, the trend toward an increase was higher in the 0-4 years (4.0%) and 5-9 years (3.0%) age groups than in the 10-14 years (2.1%) age group.…”