A twelve year study of the incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Objective: Study of the incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Analysis included all children eligible for care in our hospital who had type 1 diabetes diagnosed before their 15th birthday between 1986 and 1997. Results: A total of 46 children (27 girls and 19 boys) were identified, with a median age at diagnosis of 10.3 yr. The overall age-adjusted incidence rate was 12.3 x 10⁵/yr; it was 9.9 x 10⁵/yr for males and 14.8 x 10⁵/yr for females. The number of patients increased significantly (relative risk of 46) over the study period (p=0.01), more significantly in females (p=0.007) and in the 10-14 year age group (p=0.01). Conclusions: The incidence of type 1 diabetes increased markedly over the past 12 years, mainly in females and children over 10 years of age. The data confirm the need to develop a national registry and the need for further epidemiological research.