ESPE Abstracts

Background: The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children and adolescents has increased worldwide. However, the epidemiology of T1DM among Korean children has not been reported since 2001.

Objective and hypotheses: We therefore investigated the incidence of T1DM in Korean children and adolescents in 2012–2013 and compared it with data from 1995–2000.

Method: Data were obtained from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) registry, and age- and sex-specific incidence rates were calculated per 100 000 population.

Results: A total of 443 patients (204 boys and 239 girls, aged <15 years) with T1DM were registered in the NHIS in 2012–2013. The incidence rate per 100 000 population was 2.97 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.70–3.26). We found incidence rates of 1.39 (95% CI: 1.07–1.77), 2.95 (95% CI: 2.47–3.49), and 4.25 (95% CI: 3.73–4.82) in children aged 0–4 years, 5–9, and 10–14 years respectively. The T1DM incidence was 2.64 (95% CI: 2.29–3.33) in boys and 3.33 (95% CI: 2.92–3.77) in girls. A higher T1DM incidence was seen in 2012–2013 than 1995–2000 (incidence rate ratio 2.17, 95% CI: 1.93–2.43; P<0.001). The annual increase in T1DM incidence was 5.3% (95% CI: 4.5–6.1%) between 1995 and 2013.

Conclusion: We observed a significant increase in T1DM incidence in our study. This increase was higher in boys than girls and highest in youth aged 10–14 years. Studies to evaluate the long-term epidemiological trend of T1DM incidence should be performed.