Brief Overview about Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus among Children

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multisystem disease with both biochemical and anatomic/structural consequences. It is a chronic disease of carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism caused by the lack of insulin, which results from the marked and progressive inability of the pancreas to secrete insulin because of autoimmune destruction of the beta cells. Type 1 DM can occur at any age. Although onset frequently occurs in childhood, the disease can also develop in adults. Unlike people with type 2 DM, those with type 1 DM usually are not obese and usually present initially with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The distinguishing characteristic of a patient with type 1 DM is that if his or her insulin is withdrawn, ketosis and eventually ketoacidosis develop. Therefore, these patients are dependent on exogenous insulin. Treatment of type 1 DM requires lifelong insulin therapy. Epidemiological studies for childhood T1DM from Egypt are scarce. This has been attributed to many reasons including lack of diabetes registries, scattered medical facilities and suboptimal capturing of new cases. The incidence, prevalence and demographic characteristics of T1DM in children aged 0-18 years between 1994 and 2011 in an Egyptian subpopulation living in the Nile Delta region, were evaluated aiming for a better understanding of the risk factors as well as to plan future strategies to control this disease. The incidence rates in our pediatric population from the Nile Delta region were lower than those reported from neighboring countries (3.1/105/year).