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A comparative study on the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus between children of North African migrants and Italian children in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy

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Abstract

In the last few decades, many studies have reported an increasing global incidence of type 1 diabetes. Studies on migrant populations have underlined the importance of both environmental and genetic factors. Aims: Evaluate the incidence of type 1 diabetes in North African vs Italian children aged 0–14 years from 1 January 2015, to 31st December 2018, in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. Methods: Clinical and epidemiological data about childhood onset type 1 diabetes in Emilia Romagna region were retrospectively collected by the regional centers of pediatric diabetology and matched using 3 different data sources. Results: 365 new cases were diagnosed. Total cumulative incidence was 15.4/100,000/year. North African cases showed a cumulative incidence of 53.8/100,000/year, statistically significant compared to cumulative incidence of the Italian cases alone 13.1/100,000/year (p value < 0.001). The annual incidence did not differ in the 4 years for both groups.

  Conclusion: The incidence of type 1 diabetes in the pediatric age (0 14 years) was significantly higher in the North African population than in the Italian one, suggesting that a mix of genetic and environmental factors may have caused the increase in newly diagnosed cases.

What is Known:

• The incidence of type 1 diabetes largely varies worldwide.

• Study on immigrants helped to better understand the interplay role between genetics and environment.

What is New:

• This is the first study focused on the incidence of children and adolescents of North African migrants in Italy.

• The incidence of children and adolescents of North African migrants in Emilia Romagna region, Italy, seems to be higher than that reported in the host countries, and, above all, than that reported in highest-incidence countries in Europe and in the world.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank prof. Claudio Voci, Head of the Unit of “Management Control and Statistics,” AUSL Ferrara, Italy.

Funding

No funding was received for the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, via Massarenti 11, 40138, Bologna, Italy

    Giulio Maltoni, Maximiliano Zioutas, Marta Mosticchio, Andrea Pession & Stefano Zucchini

  2. Pediatric Unit, Department of Medical and SurgicalSciences of the Mothers, Children and Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41124, Modena, Italy

    Lorenzo Iughetti, Barbara Predieri & Patrizia Bruzzi

  3. Center for Diabetes in Children and Adolescents, Department of Woman and Child Health, Parma University Hospital, Parma, Italy

    Brunella Iovane & Pietro Lazzeroni

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Santa Maria Delle Croci Hospital, Ravenna, Italy

    Vanna Graziani

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, Italy

    Tosca Suprani & Sara Monti

  6. Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology Pediatrics, Department of Mother and Child, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Maria E. Street & Anna Lasagni

  7. Pediatrics Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Ferrara, 44124, Ferrara, Italy

    Francesca De Luca

  8. Pediatrics Unit, AUSL Romagna, 47921, Rimini, Italy

    Francesca Libertucci

  9. Pediatrics Unit, Ospedale “G.B. Morgagni - L. Pierantoni”, Forlì, Italy

    Benedetta Mainetti

  10. Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, Cantone del Cristo 50, Piacenza, Italy

    Sara Riboni

  11. Department of Pediatrics, Santa Maria Della Scaletta Hospital, Imola, Italy

    Paola Sogno Valin

Authors
  1. Giulio Maltoni
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  2. Maximiliano Zioutas
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  3. Marta Mosticchio
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  4. Lorenzo Iughetti
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  5. Barbara Predieri
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  6. Patrizia Bruzzi
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  7. Brunella Iovane
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  10. Tosca Suprani
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  11. Sara Monti
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  12. Maria E. Street
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  13. Anna Lasagni
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  14. Francesca De Luca
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  15. Francesca Libertucci
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  16. Benedetta Mainetti
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  17. Sara Riboni
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  18. Paola Sogno Valin
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  19. Andrea Pession
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  20. Stefano Zucchini
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Giulio Maltoni and Stefano Zucchini; Formal analysis and investigation: Maximiliano Zioutas and Marta Mosticchio; Writing—original draft preparation: Giulio Maltoni; Writing—review and editing: Stefano Zucchini, Andrea Pession, Lorenzo Iughetti, and Maria E. Street; Data collection: Barbara Predieri, Patrizia Bruzzi, Brunella Iovane, Pietro Lazzeroni, Vanna Graziani, Tosca Suprani, Sara Monti, Maria E. Street, Anna Lasagni, Francesca De Luca, Francesca Libertucci, Benedetta Mainetti, Sara Riboni, and Paola Sogno Valin.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giulio Maltoni.

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The study has been approved by the local ethics committee and has therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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A consent to participate was collected for each subject involved in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Communicated by Peter de Winter

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Maltoni, G., Zioutas, M., Mosticchio, M. et al. A comparative study on the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus between children of North African migrants and Italian children in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. Eur J Pediatr 181, 1523–1529 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-021-04340-4

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