[Epidemiological study of type 1 diabetes in children under 15 years-old in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)]

Introduction: We studied the incidence and prevalence of type 1 diabetes in children under 15 years-old in Castilla-La Mancha.

Patients and methods: Incidence: All new cases in a 12 months period (2007-2008) were included. To calculate the completeness of ascertainment we used the capture-recapture method. The result is expressed in cases/100,000 inhabitants under 15 years old/year. Prevalence: all children under 15 years diagnosed with diabetes on 31(st) of May of 2008 were registered. Results are expressed as cases/1000 inhabitants under 15 years old.

Results: The incidence in the Castilla-La Mancha was 27.6/100,000/year, but there was a wide variability among the different provinces: Ciudad Real (34.15), Albacete (28.19), Toledo (26.57), Guadalajara (20.3) and Cuenca (17.6). The prevalence was 1.44/1000 children under 15 years old and 0.21/1000 for the whole population. By provinces: Ciudad Real (1.67), Albacete (1.64), Toledo (1.42), Cuenca (1.02) and Guadalajara (1.01). By sex and age, we found a higher incidence (13/7) and prevalence (22/7) in males under 5 years old. The age group with highest incidence was the 4-9 year-olds, and the highest prevalence was in the 10-14 years group.

Conclusions: Both, incidence and prevalence of type 1 diabetes in children under 15 years old in Castilla-La Mancha are high, with a wide range among the different provinces. There is a preponderance in males under 5 years old. The highest prevalence is that of the 10-14 years age group. The highest incidence was in the 5-10 year age group.