Incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in youth in the US Virgin Islands, 2001-2010

Objective To report the annual incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youth and to describe characteristics of youth diagnosed with diabetes in the US Virgin Islands (USVI). Research Design and Methods: All residents ≤19 years of age diagnosed with diabetes between January 2001 and December 2010 were identified from review of medical records of all hospitals and confirmed by physician query. Results A total of 82 eligible patients were identified and the registry ascertainment was estimated to be 98.7% complete. The overall age-adjusted annual incidence rates (per 100 000) of type 1 and type 2 diabetes for the study period were 15.3 (95% CI: 11.3–20.1) and 9.6 (95% CI: 6.8–13.5), respectively. The incidence of type 1 diabetes increased significantly over the study period, with an epidemic-like threefold increase occurring from 2005 (8.7/100 000) to 2006 (26.4/100 000; p = 0.05). The incidence of type 1 diabetes was highest in the 10–19 age group in girls (25.6/100 000), but no age difference was seen in boys, resulting from the lack of a pubertal peak in non-Hispanic Black boys. The incidence of type 2 diabetes rose significantly between 2001 (5.3/100 000) and 2010 (12.5/100 000; p = 0.03). Conclusions The incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in youth is increasing in the USVI, similar to global patterns. Further studies are needed to explore the missing pubertal rise in type 1 diabetes incidence in non-Hispanic Black boys and factors associated with the epidemic-like increases observed over the decade.