In 2024, the national incidence rate of type I diabetes was 24.0 per 100,000 persons under age 20, but state-level rates ranged from 17.0 to 27.8.The ratio of board-certified pediatric endocrinologists to patients with type 1 diabetes also varied widely.Three states had fewer than five pediatric endocrinologists per 1,000 patients under age 18; in contrast, Washington, D.C. had 46.4.
Wide variations in the numbers of type 1 diabetes patients and specialists throughout the U.S. may affect care availability as diagnostic and treatment modalities continue to advance, data from a cross-sectional study indicated.
In 2024, the national incidence rate was 24.0 per 100,000 individuals under age 20, but state-level rates ranged from 17.0 to 27.8, reported Fei Wang, PhD, of Breakthrough T1D in St. Leonards, Australia, and colleagues.
"Such data provide vital information for understanding the burden of disease and guide health service delivery and resource allocation to enable equitable access to care irrespective of where individuals live," the authors wrote in a JAMA Network Open research letter.
"National-level incidence and prevalence estimates may mask within-country variation," they pointed out.
