Demographic Characteristics of Type 1 Diabetic Children and Adolescents in Hamadan, Iran

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is the most common endocrine disease in pediatric. We aimed to determine the demographic characteristics at presentation of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in Hamadan, west Province of Iran. Methods: In this cross sectional descriptive study, demographic data of children with T1DM being followed up in Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic of Besat Hospital Hamedan Iran, during 2001 to 2012, were analyzed. A detailed record of the required information such as the age, sex, place of living, season, and BMI were collected. The data were analyzed by standard statistical package SPSS, version 15.0. Results with P-value less than 0.05 were defined as statistically significant. Results: In total, 150 patients were included. The mean age at diagnosis was 8.47 ±3.17 yr. The majority of patients were urban. The frequency of disease was higher in summer. BMI percentile of most cases was between 5th to 85th. The frequency of positive family history was 10.7%. Among the studied patients, 18.7% had parental consanguinity. The mean mother’s age at delivery was 25 ±5.3 yr. Of the studied patients, 82.7% were exclusively breastfeed and 43% were the first child of family. About 13.3% had co–occurring endocrine disease. Conclusions: Age at diagnosis and sex of our patients was similar to the world report. However, seasonal variation is different in our region. The frequency of a family history of type 1 diabetes in first and second-degree relatives was relatively high. Hypothyroidism was the most frequently observed co-occurring endocrine disease.