The incidence of IDDM in Singapore children

Objective: To determine the incidence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in children 0-12 years of age in Singapore, which has a population of 2.9 million. Methods: The primary source was a 2-year phone and mail survey of doctors in the government and government restructured hospitals and the private sector. The secondary source was the membership records of the Diabetes Society of Singapore. Results: Using the capture-recapture method, ascertainment was assessed to be 92.2% complete. The age standardised incidence rate was 2.46 per 100,000 children 0 - 12 years old, for the period 1992 - 1994 (95% confidence interval : 2.16 - 2.75). The data seemed to indicate a rising incidence of IDDM in this population, being 1.4/100,000 in 1992, 2.4/ 100,000 in 1993 and 3.8/100,000 in 1994. The male : female ratio is 1 :1.85. There was seasonal variation with fewer cases from July to October and more from November to May. Five percent of patients had a first degree relative with IDDM. Malays appeared to have a lower incidence (1.23 /100,000) compared to the Chinese (2.25/ 100,000) and the Indians (5.78/100,000). Conclusions: The incidence of IDDM in Singapore children is similar to that reported for Hong Kong and Japan, but higher than that for Shanghai. The female preponderance is similar to that seen in other Asian population. The data suggests a rising incidence of IDDM in Singapore and differences in incidence between the Malays, Chinese and Indians, but further observations are needed.