Summary
This report uses data from the 2014 National (insulin-treated) Diabetes Register to examine the number of new cases (incidence) of insulin-treated diabetes in Australia.
In 2014 there were 29,436 people who began using insulin to treat their diabetes in Australia-66% had type 2 diabetes, 23% had gestational diabetes, 9% had type 1 diabetes and 2% had other forms of diabetes.
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In 2014, 2,509 people were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes—11 cases per 100,000 population, or 1 in every 9,000 Australians.
The incidence rate was higher in males than females—13 in every 100,000 males, compared with 10 in every 100,000 females.
Almost two in three (63%) people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes were under the age of 25, with the peak age of diagnosis at 10–14 years (33 cases per 100,000 population).
Insulin-treated type 2 diabetes
In 2014, to manage type 2 diabetes—75 cases per 100,000 population, or 1 in every 1,300 Australians.
The incidence rate was 1.5 times as high in males as in females—90 in every 100,000 males, compared with 61 in every 100,000 females.
Almost all (93%) new cases of insulin-treated type 2 diabetes occurred in those over the age of 40, with the peak among people aged 70–74 (278 per 100,000 population).
Incidence rates were three times as high among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians than non-Indigenous Australians.
Incidence rates were at least twice as high among those in the lowest socioeconomic group than the highest group.
Insulin-treated gestational diabetes
In 2014, 6,625 women began using insulin to manage gestational diabetes—2,174 cases per 100,000 women who gave birth.
Among women who gave birth, incidence rates increased with maternal age; with the highest rates in women aged 45–49 (5,913 per 100,000 women who gave birth).