Ketoacidosis at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children in Northern Finland Temporal changes over 20 years

• Main Authors: Anne Hekkala Md, Riitta Veijola
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.629.180; http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/4/861.full.pdf

OBJECTIVE — To study the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) over a 20-year period among children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in northern Finland. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — The study population comprised 585 pa-tients (328 boys) diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged15 years in the Department of Pediatrics, Oulu University Hospital, between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 2001. The data for clinical characteristics were collected retrospectively from the patients ’ case records. The earlier 10-year period (1982–1991) was compared with the later 10-year period (1992–2001). Two definitions for DKA were used: DKA(i) pH 7.30 or DKA(ii) pH 7.30 and/or bicarbonate 15 mmol/l. RESULTS — During the later 10-year period, children less often had DKA at diagnosis [DKA(i) 15.2 vs. 22.4%, P 0.028, and DKA(ii) 18.9 vs. 29.5%, P 0.003]. The proportion of young children aged 5 years at diagnosis increased over time, but the frequency of DKA also was lower in this age-group during 1992–2001 compared with the earlier 10-year period [DKA(i) 17.7 vs. 32.1%, P 0.052, and DKA(ii) 20.3 vs. 42.6%, P 0.005]. In children aged 2 years at diagnosis, the frequency of DKA remained high during 1992–2001 [DKA(i) 39.1% and DKA(ii) 47.8%].