Epidemiology

Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5% to 10% of all patients with diabetes. The World Health Organization indicates that in 2017 there were 9 million people with type 1 diabetes, with the majority originating from high-income countries.[7] It is the most commonly diagnosed diabetes of youth (under 20 years of age) and causes ≥85% of all diabetes cases in this age group worldwide.[8] It is estimated that 1.2 million people ages 0 to 19 years have type 1 diabetes worldwide, with 184,100 newly diagnosed cases each year.[9] It is estimated that in 2021 there were 355,900 total new cases of type 1 diabetes globally among children and adolescents, of which 56% were diagnosed. The prevalence of underdiagnosis varies substantially, with over 95% of new cases diagnosed in Australia and New Zealand, western and northern Europe, and North America, but less than 35% of new cases diagnosed in west Africa, south and southeastern Asia, and Melanesia.[10] In the US, 244,000 children and adolescents younger than age 20 years had type 1 diabetes. Additionally, in the US from 2014 to 2015, more than 18,000 people aged under 20 years were newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (annual rate for new cases about 21 in 100,000).[11] Crude estimates in the US from 2019 estimated 1.6 million adults aged 20 years or older (5.7% of all US adults with diagnosed diabetes) reported both having type 1 diabetes and using insulin.[11]

There is significant geographic variation in the incidence of type 1 diabetes.[12] It is more common in European people and less common in Asian people, with age-adjusted incidence rates ranging from 0.1 per 100,000 per year in parts of China to 40.9 per 100,000 per year in Finland.[12] Worldwide, the incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing by 3% every year, although the reasons for this are unclear.[13][14][15][16] One report showed a more rapid increase in nonwhite racial and ethnic groups.[17]

Type 1 diabetes can present at any age, with the highest incidence observed in children aged 10 to 14 years.[18] There is a slight male predominance, particularly after puberty.[18]

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