Childhood type 1 diabetes moderate to high in Australia
8 August 2003
Australia is ranked alongside countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom in having a moderate to high incidence of type 1 diabetes among children aged under 15, according to a report released this week by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The report, National Diabetes Register: Statistical Profile, December 2001, shows that over the 2-year period 2000 to 2001, 1,565 new cases of type 1 diabetes in children aged under 15 were recorded on the register.
This equates to an annual incidence rate of around 19 new cases per 100,000 population in this age group, similar to countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom, which had 20 and 18 new cases per 100,000 population, respectively.
AIHW spokesperson Anne-Marie Waters said that the annual rate of 19 new cases per 100,000 children aged under 15 years was, ‘higher than previous estimates, while also being in line with other studies reporting a rising incidence of diabetes in Australia’.
The National Diabetes Register (NDR) — established to help combat diabetes as a major health concern for Australians — is part of the National Diabetes Strategy.
The NDR collects information about people with insulin-treated diabetes who have started using insulin since the beginning of 1999. Insulin-treated diabetes can include type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, as well as gestational and other types of diabetes. Around 22,600 people registered with the NDR in the 1999-2001 period.
Last Reviewed: 08 August 2003
