THE REGISTRY FOR INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABET ES-MELLITUS IN ITALY (RIDI)PROJECT

Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) is a significant health car e problem in terms of the number of persons affected. Susceptibility t o develop IDDM is the result of an interplay between many different ge netic and environmental factors. Various international diabetes epidem iology groups have promoted the standardization of data collection and registration to determine the incidence of diabetes. Comprehensive st udies of the incidence of IDDM in Italy are few,and most studies have used local-based populations. Thus the data are difficult to interpret . In 1996, the Registry for Insulin-dependent Diabetes mellitus in Ita ly (RIDI) was promoted. This registry was prepared according to intern ational guidelines and has a number of specific aims: 1) to coordinate local IDDM incidence registries; 2) to promote registration in uncove red areas; 3) to standardize data collection and registration. At the current time, various centers have adhered to the RIDI. It is hoped th at the RIDI will yield important insight into the epidemiology of IDDM in Italy.