First report on the nationwide prevalence of paediatric type 1 diabetes in Serbia and temporal trends of diabetes ketoacidosis at diagnosis-a multicentre study.

We aimed to collect data on all paediatric patients who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) between the years 2000 and 2019 in Serbia and estimate for the first time its prevalence. Also, the trends of diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) occurrence at the time of diagnosis are monitored. We collected and retrospectively analysed the data of patients <19 years with newly diagnosed T1DM. T1DM was diagnosed in 3134 patients (53.2% male). Total number of youth <19 years with T1DM was 1735 with prevalence of 135.25/100000 at the end of study period. T1DM was diagnosed most frequently between the ages of 5 and 11 years (42.1%). At the time of diagnosis, 35.7% presented in DKA. The incidence and severity of DKA were more significant at the youngest age (p<0.001). There were significant annual percentage increase (2.2%) in the number of new cases of DKA (p=0.007). Conclusion: This first report of nationwide prevalence of T1DM in youth shows that Serbia is among countries with high prevalence of T1DM in youth. System changes are needed in order to provide better quality of health care to these patients.

Problems in diabetes managment in school setting in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in Serbia.

RESULTS: The obtained results show that not all children test blood glucose levels at school (50% of children in the 6-10-year-old age group and 67.3% in the age group over 11 years) and that not all children receive insulin at school (81.1% vs. 18.9%, and 57.7% vs. 42.3%, respectively). The frequency of severe hypoglycemia was 2.7% in children and 3.3% in adolescents. A high proportion of teachers did not have diabetes training. CONCLUSION: This brief report about problems in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes at school in Serbia indicates what happens in the school setting and suggests how to improve control of this disease and facilitate the complete integration of children with diabetes at school. BACKGROUND/AIM: Children with type 1 diabetes typically spend one-third of the day in school and they should achieve the same level of diabetes management there as they do outside the school environment. The aim of this study was to identify problems in diabetes management in children with type 1 diabetes at school according to the perceptions reported by children and parents. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was carried out at nine public hospitals in Serbia with a cohort of 6-18-year old children/adolescents. The parents were personally informed about the objectives of the survey and the necessity to involve their children. The self-reporting questionnaire included demographic information as well as some questions that helped to evaluate the general situation of children with type 1 diabetes at school.