Clinical presentation of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Al-Madina region of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

To describe the clinical pattern and the laboratory characteristics at presentation of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Al-Madina region of the north-west province of Saudi Arabia. The clinical and laboratory data of a total of 230 children who presented with diabetes during a 10-year period (1992-2001) were retrospectively analyzed based on hospital records. Polyuria and polydipsia were by far the most frequent symptoms at presentation (96%); three quarters of the children (76.6%) had weight loss at presentation. One hundred and twenty-seven children (55.2%) of 230 presented with ketoacidosis. The mean age at diagnosis was 6.9 yr. The average duration of presenting symptoms before the hospital encounter was 17.1 d ranging from 3.0 to 45.0 d, with an average of 16.2 d in boys and 17.7 d in girls, a difference which was not significant. Polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss are the most common symptoms at presentation of childhood diabetes mellitus in our region. The frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis was relatively high. The commonly recognized symptoms of diabetes were present in most of the children for a relatively long duration before the diagnosis. This calls for a collaboration of efforts for the early recognition of symptoms by patients and physicians to avoid the more severe types of presentation.