Australia is ranked alongside countries such as Canada and the
United Kingdom in having a moderate to high incidence of Type 1
diabetes among children aged under 15, according to a report
released today by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare.
The report, National Diabetes Register: Statistical Profile,
December 2001, shows that over the 2000-2001 two-year period,
1,565 new cases of Type 1 diabetes in children aged under 15 were
recorded on the Register.
This equates to an annual incidence rate of around 19 new cases
per 100,000 population in this age group, similar to countries such
as Canada and the United Kingdom, which had 20 and 18 new cases per
100,000 population respectively.
The National Diabetes Register-established to help combat
diabetes as a major health concern for Australians-is part of the
National Diabetes Strategy.
The Register collects information about people with
insulin-treated diabetes who started using insulin since the
beginning of 1999. Insulin-treated diabetes can include Type 1 and
Type 2 diabetes, as well as gestational and other types of
diabetes. Around 22,600 people registered with the NDR in the
1999-2001 period.
AIHW spokesperson Anne-Marie Waters said that the annual rate of
19 new cases per 100,000 population aged under 15 years was 'higher
than previous estimates, while also being in line with other
studies reporting a rising incidence of diabetes in Australia'.
'The findings also tell us there are high death rates among
people with diabetes who use insulin. The death rate for NDR
registrants was between two and four times that of the general
Australian population.'
'Almost all the people who had died since joining the Register
were aged 50 years or more, suggesting that they suffered from Type
2 diabetes.'
Other findings from the report include:
- Women strongly outnumber men on the Register in the 25-44 years
age group-reflecting the effect of gestational diabetes in women in
this age group.
- More than 60% of registrants are aged 45 years and over.
- About 60% of registrants had Type 2 diabetes, 29% had Type 1
diabetes, and 7% had gestational diabetes.
Ms Waters said that the AIHW welcomed approaches from
researchers to use information from the Register, which was
available subject to ethical clearance.
7 August 2003
Further information: Anne-Marie Waters, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1102 or
0412 212 791
Media copies of the report: Publications Officer,
AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW
Publications Catalogue for details.