Epidemiology

Type 1 diabetes makes up an estimated 5–10% of all diabetes cases^[8] or 11–22 million worldwide.^[41] In 2006 it affected 440,000 children under 14 years of age and was the primary cause of diabetes in those less than 10 years of age.^[72] The incidence of type 1 diabetes has been increasing by about 3% per year.^[72]
Rates vary widely by country. In Finland, the incidence is a high of 57 per 100,000 per year, in Japan and China a low of 1 to 3 per 100,000 per year, and in Northern Europe and the U.S., an intermediate of 8 to 17 per 100,000 per year.^[73][74]
In the United States, type 1 diabetes affected about 208,000 youths under the age of 20 in 2015. Over 18,000 youths are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes every year. Every year about 234,051 Americans die due to diabetes (type I or II) or diabetes-related complications, with 69,071 having it as the primary cause of death.^[75]

History

Type 1 diabetes was described as an autoimmune disease in the 1970s, based on observations that autoantibodies against islets were discovered in diabetics with other autoimmune deficiencies.^[76] It was also shown in the 1980s that immunosuppressive therapies could slow disease progression, further supporting the idea that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder.^[77] The name juvenile diabetes was used earlier as it often first is diagnosed in childhood.
In Australia, approximately one million Australians have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and Australia ranks 7th-highest in the world with children under 14 years of age. Between 2000 and 2013, 31,895 new cases were established, with 2,323 in 2013, a rate of 10–13 cases per 100,00 people each year. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people are less affected.^[78][79]