World diabetes day: estimating the global incidence of type 1 diabetes among children and adolescents

A new study was published in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology this week, estimating that around 200 000 new cases of type 1 diabetes was diagnosed in the year 2021, and a substantial number of additional cases occurred that were not diagnosed (1). Lars C. Stene at NIPH and Oslo Diabetes Research Centre, and Aveni Haynes from The University of Western Australia, Perth commented on this new study and another recent study (2) combining available data and simulation, highlighting some of the main findings as well as weaknesses and outstanding questions (3).

In addition to the increasing incidence in the coming decades, it is clear that incidence data are lacking from a large fraction of the most populous countries of the world, and that many children and adolescents die every year without properly being diagnosed and treated for type 1 diabetes.

References

1.  Ward ZJ, Yeh JM, Reddy CL, Gomber A, Ross C, Rittiphairoj T, et al. Estimating the total incidence of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents aged 0 -19 years from 1990 to 2050: a global simulation-based analysis. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2022 (published online November 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(22)00276-5).

2.  Gregory GA, Robinson TIG, Linklater SE, Wang F, Colagiuri S, de Beaufort C, et al. Global incidence, prevalence, and mortality of type 1 diabetes in 2021 with projection to 2040: a modelling study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2022;10(10):741-60.

3. Stene LC, Haynes A. Trending now: modelling global epidemiology of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2022 (published online, November 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(22)00306-0, Commentary).