Presents the latest available national data on new cases of type 1 diabetes from Australia’s National (insulin-treated) Diabetes Register. In 2013, there were 2,323 new cases of type 1 diabetes in Australia, equating to 11 cases per 100,000 population. This rate has remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2013, fluctuating between 10 and 13 cases per 100,000 population each year.
Summary
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong autoimmune disease requiring management with insulin to ensure blood glucose levels remain within a safe range. If left untreated, or improperly managed, type 1 diabetes can lead to many health complications.
This report uses the latest available data from the National (insulin-treated) Diabetes Register to examine the incidence-that is, the number of new cases-of type 1 diabetes in Australia.
From 2000 to 2013 there were 31,895 new cases of type 1 diabetes in Australia, with 2,323 of these in 2013.
The rate of type 1 diabetes has remained stable for more than a decade, at around 10 to 13 cases per 100,000 population each year.
The incidence of type 1 diabetes was higher for males than for females-12 per 100,000 compared with 9 per 100,000, respectively, in 2013.
More than half of all new cases of type 1 diabetes were in people aged under 18 years.
Rates were 3 times as high among 0-14 years olds (24 per 100,000 population) compared with those aged 15 and over (8 per 100,000 population).
The rate of type 1 diabetes was lowest in the Northern Territory, at 6 per 100,000 population, compared with other states and territories, which ranged from 11 to 13 per 100,000 population between 2000 and 2013.
From 2001-2013, the rate of type 1 diabetes was lower in remote and very remote areas compared with other areas of Australia-7 cases per 100,000 population compared with 11-13 per 100,000, respectively.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a lower incidence of type 1 diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians: 7 per 1000,000 population and 10 per 100,000, respectively, in 2005-2013
