Increasing trend of childhood type 1 diabetes incidence: 20-year observation from Greater Poland Province, Poland

Type 1 diabetes is one of the fastest-growing chronic health conditions. Estimating the incidence rate of childhood type 1 diabetes will allow to aid in adequate planning of health care resources. The study’s aim was to assess the incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children below 15 years of age from Greater Poland (Poland) between 2006 and 2018, and then to compare obtained data to records collected between 1998 and 2003 in pediatric population aged 0–14 years from the same area.

In this cohort study covering the period from January 1998 to December 2018, data were collected for children and adolescents below 14 years of age with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes living in Greater Poland. The overall population size was taken from the Statistical Office of Poland. Total, sex-, and age-specific incidence rates per 100,000 person-years were calculated for each calendar year.

Over a 20-year period, the incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children aged 0–14 years rose around 3.6-fold, from 8.4/100,000 in 1998 to 30.8/100,000 in 2018, with the peak incidence recorded in last year of the study. A clear male predominance of type 1 diabetes was seen in all ages. The rate of type 1 diabetes incidence growth was comparable between all age groups, while the highest incidence rate was mostly observed in children aged 5–9 and 10–14 years.

The incidence of type 1 diabetes in children aged 0–14 years is rapidly increasing in Greater Poland.