Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Oct;24(10):1455-1465.
doi: 10.1007/s11886-022-01762-w. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes

Joel A Vanderniet  1 , Alicia J Jenkins  2 , Kim C Donaghue  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes

Joel A Vanderniet et al. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Epidemiological research on type 1 diabetes (T1D) has traditionally focussed on the paediatric age group, but recent data in adults has confirmed it to be a disease of all ages with a wide clinical spectrum. We review the epidemiology and clinical features of T1D across the lifespan.

Recent findings: While the peak incidence of T1D is still in early adolescence, T1D is now diagnosed more commonly in adulthood than childhood due to increasing recognition of adult-onset T1D and the length of the adult lifespan. It still follows the known geographic variations in incidence, being highest in Northern Europe and lowest in Asia. The onset of T1D in adulthood is usually less acute than in childhood and confers a lower, although still substantial, risk of complications and early mortality. Interventions to delay T1D onset are emerging and screening for those at risk at birth is increasingly available. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age and may not present with ketosis or an immediate insulin requirement in adults. Macro- and microvascular complications are the greatest cause of excess morbidity and mortality in this population.

Keywords: Adult-onset; Childhood-onset; Complications; Incidence; Prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance
    1. • Leslie RD, Evans-Molina C, Freund-Brown J, Buzzetti R, Dabelea D, Gillespie KM, et al. Adult-Onset Type 1 Diabetes: Current Understanding and Challenges. Diabetes Care. 2021;44(11):2449–56. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-0770 . Expert review of the current knowledge about adult-onset T1D, which has advanced considerably in recent years following the historical focus on T1D as a childhood-onset disease. - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. World Health Organization. Global report on diabetes. Geneva: WHO Press; 2016.
    1. Gillespie KM, Gale EA, Bingley PJ. High familial risk and genetic susceptibility in early onset childhood diabetes. Diabetes. 2002;51(1):210–4. https://doi.org/10.2337/diabetes.51.1.210 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Craig ME, Kim KW, Isaacs SR, Penno MA, Hamilton-Williams EE, Couper JJ, et al. Early-life factors contributing to type 1 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2019;62(10):1823–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-019-4942-x . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hermann R, Knip M, Veijola R, Simell O, Laine AP, Akerblom HK, et al. Temporal changes in the frequencies of HLA genotypes in patients with Type 1 diabetes–indication of an increased environmental pressure? Diabetologia. 2003;46(3):420–5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-003-1045-4 . - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources