Summary
This report provides the latest information from Australia's National Diabetes Register (NDR). The register applies to Australians who began using insulin for diabetes since 1999.
The report covers trends between 2000 and 2007 in the incidence of Type 1 diabetes, insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. It also provides information on deaths between 2000 and 2006 of those on the register.
Main findings
- The incidence of Type 1 and other insulin-treated diabetes in Australia is increasing.
- People with insulin-treated diabetes have significantly higher death rates than other Australians.
The evidence
Type 1 diabetes
- Australia is in the top 10 countries of those with the highest rates of Type 1 diabetes in children.
- The incidence of Type 1 diabetes in children has increased. The 990 new cases in 2007 among those aged 0-14 years represents a 30% increase compared with 2000.
- Between 2000 and 2007 there was a fall in the rate of new cases of Type 1 diabetes in people aged 40 years and over, but little change in incidence rates among people aged 15-39 years.
Insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes
- There was a 63% increase in new cases of insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes in Australia from 2000 to 2007 (21,400 in 2007).
- There were 900 new cases of insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes in people aged 15-24 years, and 4,800 new cases in those aged 25-34 years between 2000 and 2007. However, the majority (95%) of the new cases still occurred in people aged 35 years and over.
Gestational diabetes
- There was a 6-fold increase in the number of new cases of insulin-treated gestational diabetes among women aged 15-49 years in Australia between 2000 and 2007.
Deaths
- The death rate among people with insulin-treated diabetes was 3 times as high as the rest of the Australian population over 2000-2006.