Type 1 diabetes mellitus in pediatric age group: A rising endemic

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is the most common endocrinological abnormality found in children. The incidence of T1DM has steadily increased in nearly all parts of the world. Both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis. It is caused due to either decreased or absent insulin production in the body due to multiple etiologies. We have done a literature review of type 1 DM in children and a clinical audit of point prevalence of type 1 DM cases & its clinical correlates of patients presenting at the tertiary level hospital, AIIMS Rishikesh, over two years six months period (April 2015 to September 2017). We found the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (Type 1) is 2.88%. Among clinical features at presentation, 56.5% presented with polyuria, 34.8% with polydipsia, 21.7% with polyphagia, 39.1% with weight loss. 26.1% of patients had diabetic ketoacidosis at presentation. The majority of children have deranged HbA1C levels (94.4%). It is concluded that children presented with higher HbA1c levels at onset and higher duration of symptoms are at greater risk for the development of complications.