ABSTRACT
The importance of effective strategies for the treatment of diabetes in children and adolescents is accentuated by the knowledge that time-trend data, for countries where it is available, have demonstrated a clear increase in incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) in these age groups. Such an increase suggests changes in environmental factors with the larger increase in children < 5 years of age suggestive of factors operative in early life. As alluded to elsewhere, cases of type 2 DM related to obesity are now being encountered, especially in high-risk ethnic groups.
