Changes in the incidence and prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among 2 million children and adolescents in Hungary between 2001 and 2016 – a nationwide population-based study

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to assess changes in the incidence and prevalence of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in children and adolescents in Hungary during the period 2001 to 2016 in order to provide nationwide population-based epidemiology data on diabetes in youths aged 0–18 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of Hungarian children and adolescents aged 18 years or younger. Pharmacologically treated diabetes cases were obtained through a population-based registry of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund. Time series analysis was used to evaluate the changing patterns of the incidence and prevalence for type 1 and type 2 diabetes covering a 16-year period. RESULTS: During the study period, 6,138 and 1,997 new T1DM and T2DM cases were observed, respectively. Newly diagnosed T2DM cases accounted for 24.5% of all incident diabetes cases. Incidence of T1DM increased from 16/100,000 to 23/100,000 (R(2) = 0.7681; p < 0.0001). The male-to-female ratio among newly diagnosed T1DM patients did not change over the study period. Prevalence of T1DM rose from 114/100,000 to 209/100,000 (R(2) = 0.9909; p < 0.0001). The prevalent T1DM cases showed significant male predominance in every year (p < 0.05). Incidence of T2DM decreased from 8/100,000 to 5/100,000 (R(2) = 0.4977; p < 0.0014). The overall prevalence of T2DM did not change significantly. Prevalent T2DM cases showed significant female predominance in every year (p < 0.0001). A significant decrease in male-to female ratio was observed among newly diagnosed T2DM cases over the study period (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: According to these population-based Hungarian data of children and adolescents with diabetes, T1DM is still the most common form and its frequency continues to rise, affecting more males than females. A high proportion of patients have T2DM, affecting more females than males, but the occurrence of medically treated cases is not increasing. The decrease in male-to-female ratio in newly diagnosed T2DM cases needs further investigations.