Clinical Demographic Patterns of Type 1 Diabetes in Saudi Children in Tabuk City, 2000-2010

We aimed to identify the variation in the clinical background of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) at King Salman Military Hospital (KSMH), Tabuk City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 2000 to 2010. Methods: This retrospective observational study was based on the clinical records of pediatric diabetes outpatients at KSMH. All children aged <12 years who were diagnosed with T1DM and were followed up at the diabetes clinic from 2000 to 2010, were enrolled. The local variables associated with the clinical presentation in these patients, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and season of onset, were evaluated. Results: Of 313 patients recruited, female patients were predominant (p = 0.002). The mean age of onset was 6.46 years (standard deviation, 3.02). One-third of the newly diagnosed patients were overweight (35.5%). Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) was the presenting feature in 38.0% of patients, wherein female patients and those aged 0 - 3 years exhibited the highest likelihood of developing DKA (odds ratio, 1.7 and 2.9, respectively). Moreover, underweight children had a greater DKA incidence than healthy, overweight, or obese children (p = 0.02). Conclusion: This study provides additional data on T1DM in the population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In particular, we found a female predominance at presentation as well as 2 peaks for age at onset. Moreover, the BMI was lower in younger age groups overall, but was greater in older boys. Furthermore, the DKA rates were high in younger children. Thus, our data confirm the presence of variable clinical patterns in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which requires further epidemiological analysis using national registry data.