Incidence of IDDM in the province of Rzeszów, Poland, 0- to 29-year-old age-group, 1980-1992.

OBJECTIVE

To study the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in the province of Rzeszów, Poland, and to test for differences in incidence by age at diagnosis, time cluster, sex, urban-rural population, and season.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A registry was established in 1990 to collect new IDDM cases among people 0-29 years of age, from 1980 to 1992. Data were collected according to the Diabetes Epidemiology Research International Group recommendations.

RESULTS

The average age-standardized incidence of IDDM was 5.31/100,000 population (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.67-6.04) for those 0-29 years of age. Among males, it was 5.68/100,000 (CI 4.77-6.77), and among females it was 4.93/100,000 (CI 4.07-5.97). The incidence for children 0-14 years old was 5.11/100,000 (CI 4.27-6.11) and for those 15-29 years old, 5.55/100,000 (CI 4.60-6.68). The incidence of IDDM in autumn (September through November) was the highest (87 of 243 cases) and differed statistically from each of the other seasons. The incidence of IDDM among the urban and rural populations did not differ. There were also no differences between the sexes and the groups divided by 5-year age intervals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study documents the low incidence rate and seasonal dependence of IDDM among people 0-29 years of age in the province of Rzeszów, Poland.