Epidemiology

Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5% to 10% of all patients with diabetes. It is the most commonly diagnosed diabetes of youth (under 20 years of age) and causes ≥85% of all diabetes cases in this age group worldwide.[5] It is estimated that 1,110,100 people aged 0-19 years have type 1 diabetes worldwide, with 128,900 newly diagnosed cases each year.[6]

In the US from 2014-2015, more than 18,000 people aged under 20 years were newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (annual rate for new cases about 21 in 100,000).[7] Crude estimates in the US from 2018 estimated 1.4 million adults aged 20 years or older (5.2% of all US adults with diagnosed diabetes) reported both having type 1 diabetes and using insulin.[7]

There is significant geographic variation in the incidence of type 1 diabetes.[8] It is more common in European people and less common in Asian people, with age-adjusted incidence rates ranging from 0.1 per 100,000 per year in parts of China to 40.9 per 100,000 per year in Finland.[8] Worldwide, the incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing by 3% every year, although the reasons for this are unclear.[9][10][11][12] One report showed a more rapid increase in nonwhite racial and ethnic groups.[13]

Type 1 diabetes can present at any age, with the highest incidence observed in children aged 10-14 years.[14] There is a slight male predominance, particularly after puberty.[14]

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