Epidemiology
Type 1 diabetes causes an estimated 5–10% of all diabetes cases or 11–22 million worldwide. In 2006 it affected 440 thousand children under 14 years of age and was the primary cause of diabetes in those less than 10 years of age. The incidence of type 1 diabetes has been increasing by about 3% per year.
Rates vary widely by country. In Finland, the incidence is a high of 35 per 100,000 per year, in Japan and China a low of 1 to 3 per 100,000 per year, and in Northern Europe and the U.S., an intermediate of 8 to 17 per 100,000 per year.
Type 1 diabetes was previously known as juvenile diabetes to distinguish it from type 2 diabetes, which generally has a later onset; however, the majority of new-onset type 1 diabetes is seen in adults. Studies using antibody testing (glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies, islet cell antibodies, and insulinoma-associated autoantibodies) to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes demonstrate that most new-onset type 1 diabetes is seen in adults. Adult-onset type 1 autoimmune diabetes is two to three times more common than classic childhood-onset autoimmune diabetes.
Read more about this topic: Diabetes Mellitus Type 1