All-cause mortality in a population-based type 1 diabetes cohort in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
OBJECTIVE
Type 1 diabetes remains a significant source of premature mortality; however, its burden has not been assessed in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). As such, the objective of this study was to estimate type 1 diabetes mortality in a population-based registry sample in the USVI.


METHODS
We report overall and 20-year mortality in the USVI Childhood (<19 years old) Diabetes Registry Cohort diagnosed 1979-2005. Recent data for non-Hispanic blacks from the Allegheny County, PA population-based type 1 diabetes registry were used to compare mortality in the USVI to the contiguous U.S.


RESULTS
As of December 31, 2010, the vital status of 94 of 103 total cases was confirmed (91.3%) with mean diabetes duration 16.8 ± 7.0 years. No deaths were observed in the 2000-2005 cohort. The overall mortality rates for those diagnosed 1979-1989 and 1990-1999 were 1852 and 782 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Overall cumulative survival for USVI was 98% (95% CI: 97-99) at 10 years, 92% (95% CI: 89-95) at 15 years and 73% (95% CI: 66-80) at 20 years. The overall SMR for non-Hispanic blacks in the USVI was 5.8 (95% CI: 2.7-8.8). Overall mortality and cumulative survival for non-Hispanic blacks did not differ between the USVI and Allegheny County, PA.


CONCLUSIONS
This study, as the first type 1 diabetes mortality follow-up in the USVI, confirmed previous findings of poor disease outcomes in racial/ethnic minorities with type 1 diabetes.
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Electronic address: raynardewashington@gmail.com.
Raynard E
RE
Washington
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Trevor J
TJ
Orchard
Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Vincent C
VC
Arena
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Ronald E
RE
LaPorte
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Aaron M
AM
Secrest
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Eugene S
ES
Tull
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015996:Survival Rate; D014767:United States Virgin Islands / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
Health disparities; Mortality; Type 1 diabetes; Virgin Islands