Overall incidence of diabetes tops 24 per 100,000 in children.

The overall incidence of diabetes in American children and adolescents is 24.3 per 100,000 per year, reported Dr. Dana Dabelea and associates in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study.

Most of the new cases of diabetes in the pediatric population are type 1 disease. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common but is still relatively infrequent overall, the researchers said. The study cited specific data only for combined incidence of the disease; separate figures for type 1 and type 2 were not provided.

The researchers reported the results for the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study for 2002-2003, which was specifically designed to identify incident cases of the disorder in Americans younger than age 20 and provides clinicians with a snapshot of diabetes risk. The CDC-funded study drew data from four population-based registries, four American Indian reservation-based health plans, and two large health maintenance organizations, all in geographically distinct sites.

The incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes was highest among non-Hispanic whites (26.1 cases per 100,000), African Americans (25.4 cases), and American Indians (25.0 cases). It was lower among Hispanics (20.2 cases) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (16.7 cases).

For type 1 diabetes, the incidence appears to be increasing across the United States, "consistent with worldwide trends," said Dr. Dabelea of the University of Colorado, Denver, and associates (JAMA 2007;297:2716-24).

"We estimate that the annual number of newly diagnosed youth with type 1 DM in the U.S. is approximately 15,000."

The incidence of type 2 diabetes was, as expected, highest in American Indian youth, followed by African American, Asian / Pacific Islander, and Hispanic youth. It was lowest in white youth. The highest incidence was found in 15- to 19-year-olds in minority groups, especially American Indians in that age range (49.4 cases per 100,000).

The investigators estimated that the annual number of newly diagnosed youth with type 2 diabetes in the United States is approximately 3,700.