EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN

This study assessed the updated incidence of IDDM in 0 to 14-year-old children in the Sultanate of Oman, which is located in the souther-eas tern part of the Arabian peninsula. Incident cases were recorded prosp ectively from January 1993 to the end of December 1994. Incidence rate s were standardized on the basis of the National Population Census. Th e degree of ascertainment was above 96 % from the primary source. Duri ng two full calendar years, 31 new cases of IDDM in children were diag nosed in Oman (10 health regions). The standardized incidence rates we re 2.45 and 2.62/100 000 per year during 1993 and 1994, respectively. The sex-specific rates among males and females were 3.23 and 1.99/100 000, respectively, in 1993 and 2.91 and 1.95/100 000, respectively in 1994. The age-specific incidence rates during the 2 years were higher in the 10-14 age group (3.69 and 4.22/100 000, respectively) vs those in the 5-9 age group (2.32 and 2.79/100 000, respectively) and 0.4 age group (1.54 and 0.97/100 000 respectively). The number of new cases/m onth was markedly higher in the relatively cooler months (September th rough March) of the year. The incidence rate of IDDM in children under the age of 15 years in Oman was lower than the reported incidence in Kuwait (another gulf country located north-west to Oman) which might r eflect the north-south gradient reported in several previous studies. However this incidence rate was higher than those reported for many co untries in Asia.