The prevalence of diabetes mellitus: A study of children and their relatives in a northern Swedish county

In a northern Swedish county, the prevalence of juvenile diabetes mellitus in the age group 0–15 years was 2.2 per thousand. The approximate number of diabetic children 0–15 years of age in Sweden can be estimated to be about 4,000. A higher prevalence of diabetes was found among the siblings of the diabetic children than among the siblings of a control group: 2.6 per cent compared with 0.28 per cent, respectively. A positive family history of diabetes mellitus was recorded for 30 per cent of the diabetic and 17 per cent of the control children.