title: Epidemiological studies of diabetes mellitus in Denmark: 3. Clinical characteristics and incidence of diabetes among males aged 0 to 19 years.
abstract: This study presents the clinical-epidemiological analysis of data from 769 individuals, representing greater than 95% of all cases of diabetes mellitus diagnosed during the first 20 years of life among the Danish male birth cohorts 1949-1956 inclusive. It is concluded that except for a very few, all cases of diabetes developing during the first 20 years of life are insulin-dependent with a duration of symptoms less than 2 months before diagnosis in greater than 75% of the cases. The cases were evenly distributed within Denmark at the time of birth as well as of diagnosis, and greater than 98% were admitted to hospital at diagnosis. A relatively higher proportion of cases diagnosed during autumn and winter periods was found, but was not statistically significant. Incidence was analysed in a regression model with age and calendar time as variables; the variation of age at onset was similar to previous studies with a peak at pre-school age and at puberty. Contrary to previous Danish analyses, we found a significant calendar time variation with steadily increasing age-specific incidences from the beginning of 1950s until an apparent maximum in mid-1970s.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003718:Denmark; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012621:Seasons