CALENDAR TIME TRENDS OF THE INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS MORTALITY IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

This study applied a Cox proportional hazard model to investigate the calendar time trends of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) mor tality. The study population was the IDDM patients who were diagnosed in the period 1965-1979, less than or equal to 19 years of age at diag nosis, and were residents of Allegheny County, PA. The mortality follo w-up for each individual was recorded from the diagnosis of IDDM and t ill 31 December 1990. There were 999 individuals in this study, and 68 deaths (6.8%) occurred during this 26-year investigation period. Over all, for the patients with the same IDDM duration, non-whites were 1.7 times more likely to die than the white group; female IDDM patients h ad a higher risk of death than male IDDM patients (1.27:1); and the ri sk of mortality increased as the age at diagnosis increased. When cont rolling for the gender, ethnic groups and age at onset effect, the ris k of dying in different calendar years appeared to be a quadratic form . The highest mortality appeared in the late 60's, and the lowest was in the period of 1975-1979. Disappointingly the mortality has begun to rise again in the latest time frame.