In a new league table of countries, the UK falls behind Finland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Norway, ranking fifth worldwide with an incidence rate of 24.5 cases of T1D per 100,000 children aged 0–14 years; the UK rate is double that in France (12.2 per 100,000) and Italy (12.1 per 100,000). The joint lowest rates in the world were reported for Papua New Guinea and Venezuela.
Unlike T2D, T1D is not linked to obesity or lifestyle, and scientists are looking to genetics to describe the wide variation in incidence.
Barbara Young, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “We do not fully understand why more children in the UK are developing T1D than almost anywhere else in the world. But the fact that the rate is so high here in the UK means it is especially important that parents know the symptoms.”
She added: “At the moment, poor understanding of type 1 diabetes symptoms is one of the main reasons that far too many children are already seriously ill by the time they are diagnosed.”
