The Incidence Trend of Type 1 Diabetes among Children and Adolescents 0-14 Years of Age in the West, South, and Tripoli Regions of Libya (2009-2018)
Rowida M. Khashebi1, Christopher C Patterson3, Mostafa S. Shebani41Tripoli Children’s Hospital, Tripoli, Libya2University of Tripoli Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Tripoli, Libya
3Queen’s University Belfast, Centre of Public Health, Belfast, United Kingdom
4Tripoli Children’s Hospital, Tripoli, Libya and University of Tripoli Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Tripoli, Libya
INTRODUCTION: To estimate the incidence rates (IR) and analyse the trend in type 1 diabetes (T1D) among children aged 0-14 years in the West, South, and Tripoli regions of Libya.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on Libyan children aged 0-14 years with a new diagnosis of T1D who were admitted and/or had their follow-up at Tripoli Children’s Hospital during the period 2004 to 2018. The data were used to estimate the IR and the age-standardized IR per 100,000 population in the studied region for the years 2009-2018. The IRs by sex and age group (0-4, 5-9, 10-14 years) for every calendar year were assessed.
RESULTS: A total of 1,213 children were diagnosed during the study period (2004-2018), 49.1% were males with a male-to-female ratio of 1: 1.03. The mean age (±standard deviation) at diagnosis was 6.3±3.8 years. The distribution of incident cases according to age group 0-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years was 38.2%, 37.8%, and 24.1%, respectively. Poisson regression modelling in the period 2009-2018 revealed an overall trend of a 2.1% increase per annum. In the period 2014-2018, the overall age-adjusted IR was 31.7 (95% confidence interval: 29.2-34.2) per 100,000 population, the IRs of age groups 0-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years were 36.0, 37.4, and 21.6 per 100,000, respectively
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The incidence of T1D in Libyan children in the West, South, and Tripoli regions appears to be rising, with a higher rate in the 0-4 and 5-9 year age groups.
Manuscript Language: English
