Objective: To study the epidemiological characteristics of diabetes mellitus in Chinese children and adolescents at the age of 5 to 17 years according to the data of China Nutrition and Health Survey in 2002.
Methods: The contents of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) of 39928 subjects, at the age of 5 to 17 years, were determined by glucose oxidase method and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus were analyzed by gender and age groups. According to WHO and IDF criteria (1999) to diagnose DM.
Results: The levels of average FPG of all subjects were (4.60 +/- 0.57) mmol/L. The levels of FPG in city population were slightly higher than those in rural population. The prevalence of DM in Chinese children and adolescents were 0.19%. The prevalence of DM in urban and rural areas was 0.25% and 0.17% respectively. The prevalence of DM at the age groups of 5 - 9 year, 10 - 14 year, and 15 - 17 year were 0.10%, 0.14% and 0.39% respectively.
Conclusion: The prevalence of DM in Chinese children and adolescents could trends to the developed countries. The prevalence of DM at the age of 5 - 17 years should be considered.