Diabetes Care, Vol 18, Issue 4 552-554, Copyright © 1995 by American Diabetes Association

ARTICLES

National data on the epidemiology of IDDM in Greece. Cases diagnosed in 1992. Hellenic Epidemiology Study Group

C Dacou-Voutetakis, K Karavanaki and H Tsoka-Gennatas
First Pediatric Department, Athens University, Greece.

OBJECTIVE--To detect the incidence, geographic distribution, and seasonal variation of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in all of Greece. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--One hundred and thirty-seven children (75 boys and 62 girls) up to 14.9 years of age were diagnosed with IDDM in Greece in 1992. RESULTS--The age-adjusted incidence of IDDM in Greece in 1992 was 6.25/100,000 population (boys: 6.17/100,000;: girls: 6.28/100,000). There was a significant pubertal peak. The incidence of IDDM was significantly higher in metropolitan (10.0/100,000) than in rural (4.21/100,000), semirural (7.48/100,000), or urban areas (5.36/100,000) of Athens. There was a marginal difference between rural and semirural areas. No significant seasonal variation in the incidence of IDDM was observed. CONCLUSIONS--We conclude that the incidence of IDDM in Greece is among the five lowest in Europe. An impressive clustering of cases was observed in the Athens metropolitan area compared with the rural and semirural areas, an observation that possibly underlines the importance of environmental factors (stressful situations, infections, dietary habits, and others) in the expression of IDDM.
CiteULike    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Radon, D. Windstetter, S. Solfrank, E. von Mutius, D. Nowak, H.-P. Schwarz, and for the Chronic Autoimmune Disease and Contact to Exposure to Farming Environments in Early Life and Type 1 Diabetes: A Case-Control Study Diabetes, November 1, 2005; 54(11): 3212 - 3216. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C Dacou-Voutetakis, A Sertedaki, M Maniatis-Christidis, C Sarri, G Karadima, M B Petersen, A Xaidara, M Kanariou, and P Nicolaidou Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and autoimmune thyroiditis in a boy with a ring chromosome 18: additional evidence of autoimmunity or IDDM gene(s) on chromosome 18 J. Med. Genet., February 1, 1999; 36(2): 156 - 158. [Abstract] [Full Text]