One of the largest global studies of its kind, led by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine), has found that there is a significant incidence of type 1 diabetes among adults with newly diagnosed diabetes, which is much higher than previously believed.

The number of new cases also did not appear to decline with increasing age, and a significant number of new cases presenting late in life. In addition, the incidence varied considerably by geographical region, while the rates are overall higher in men than women.

The study also revealed the global pattern of type 1 diabetes present in adults. A more than 30-fold difference was found in the annual rates of type 1 diabetes present in adults, ranging from less than 1 per 100,000 in China to more than 30 per 100,000 in Sweden. Among the 26 studies which reported rates in males and females, 92% reported a higher incidence in adult males compared with females.

Considering that most of the past studies on this topic were from high-income countries, highlighting the paucity of data from low-to-middle-income countries, there is a pressing need for more well-designed studies in order to understand the true problems that type 1 diabetes causes in different parts of the world. The research team developed an index to evaluate the quality of the studies, including the incorporation of biomarkers to ascertain the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, which will help improve the design of future studies.