Incidence of childhood diabetes in children aged less than 15 years and its clinical and metabolic characteristics at the time of diagnosis: data from the Childhood Diabetes Registry of Saxony, Germany

Abstract

Aims: The Childhood Diabetes Registry in Saxony, Germany, examined the incidence and metabolic characteristics of childhood diabetes.

Methods: In the federal state of Saxony, newly diagnosed cases of diabetes in children and adolescents aged less than 15 years were registered continuously from 1999 until 2008. Family history, date of diagnosis, clinical and laboratory parameters were obtained. Reported cases were ascertained by public health departments as an independent data source and verified using the capture- recapture method.

Results: A total of 865 children and adolescents with newly diagnosed diabetes were registered in Saxony. About 96% of them were classified as having type 1 diabetes, 0.6% had type 2 diabetes, 2.4% had maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), and 1.4% had other types of diabetes. The age-standardized incidence rate of type 1 diabetes was estimated at 17.5 per 100,000 children per year. Completeness of ascertainment as calculated by the capture-recapture method amounted to 93.6%. At the time of diagnosis, 27.1% of children with type 1 diabetes had ketoacidosis, 1.5% had a blood pH <7.0, and 1.1% were unconscious.

Conclusion: The registry provided data about the incidence rates and clinical presentation of childhood diabetes in a defined German population. We observed higher incidence rates compared to previous surveys.