Does the Risk for Childhood Diabetes Vary by Community Area in Chicago?

Diana S. Grigsby-Toussaint, University of Illinois at Chicago
Laurie Ruggiero, University of Illinois at Chicago
Rebecca Lipton, University of Chicago

Distinguishing between the various forms of diabetes mellitus (DM) in young people continues to challenge researchers. This is primarily as a consequence of the changing profile of individuals with type 2 (T2) diabetes, which is no longer limited to adults, but increasingly, children and teenagers. Furthermore, extant research suggests that environmental factors influence the incidence of both type 1 (T1) and (T2) DM, further complicating the discrimination of the etiology of the disease in youth. Using a city-wide incidence registry of DM in youth ages 0 – 17, this study examines the overall incidence of childhood diabetes and assesses geographic differences in (T1) and non type 1 (nT1) DM in Chicago community areas between 1994 and 2003. The overall childhood diabetes incidence rate over the 10 year period was 17 per 100,000. Average incidence rates were higher for T1 compared to nT1, 10 per 100,000 versus 7 per 100,000.