Diabetes incidence in 0- to 14-year age-group in Italy: a 10-year prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
The Registry for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Italy (RIDI) Study Group was established to coordinate the registries of type 1 diabetes in Italy. This report is based on 3,606 children younger than 15 years diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and prospectively registered during 1990-1999 by nine centers, covering >35% of the Italian population.


METHODS
Registries were pooled in four geographic macro-areas: north, central, south, and insular. The completeness of registration was assessed by the capture-recapture method. Poisson regression analysis was used to evaluate temporal trend in incidence.


RESULTS
Large variations in incidence were confirmed not only between Sardegna and the mainland but also among peninsular areas. In Sardegna, there was an excess of boys (the boy-to-girl incidence ratio was 1.4). The overall incidence showed average increases of 3.6% (P <0.001) and 3.7% (P <0.001) per year in peninsular Italy and in Sardegna, respectively. Significant increases in incidence rates were found in boys aged 10-14 years (6.7%, 95% CI 0.5-13.3) and in girls aged 5-9 years (6.6%, 0.5-13.1) living in the southern area. The incidence rate also increased in boys aged 10-14 years (5.0%, 0.3-10) and in girls aged 0-4 years (4.9%, 0.8-9.1) living in Sardegna.


CONCLUSIONS
Italy is a country with large geographical variations in incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. However, the rates are evenly increasing both in the mainland and Sardegna, suggesting that similar environmental factors are operating over populations that have different genetic backgrounds.
Carle
Flavia
F
Department of Pediatrics, Polytechnic University of Marche Via Corridoni, 11 I-60123 Ancona, Italy.
Gesuita
Rosaria
R
Bruno
Graziella
G
Coppa
Giovanni V
GV
Falorni
Alberto
A
Lorini
Renata
R
Martinucci
Marco E
ME
Pozzilli
Paolo
P
Prisco
Francesco
F
Songini
Marco
M
Tenconi
Maria T
MT
Cherubini
Valentino
V
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012042:Registries; D012727:Sex Characteristics