[Analysis of various epidemiological parameters in patients with diabetes mellitus type I in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil].

The authors analyzed epidemiological data of 157 type I diabetes patients living in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mean age at the time of study 16 +/- 8.1 years (arithmetic mean +/- standard deviation) and the age at the time of the diagnosis was 12.5 +/- 7.4 years. The diabetes history span was 3.1 +/- 4.3 years and the interval between appearance of symptoms and diagnosis was 30.7 +/- 30.4 days. Neither seasonal nor sex dependent differences were observed, but there was an inverse correlation between the average monthly temperature in Rio de Janeiro and the number of newly diagnosed cases. A first grade family history was positive in 15.9% of patients (11% of type I diabetes). The autoimmunity history was positive in 4.1% of patients (mainly thyroid disease). An infectious disease history was positive in 7% of patients (mainly mumps). Our data suggests that some epidemiological aspects, observed among type I brazilian diabetic patients of a mixed genetic background, are similar to those observed in other populational groups of different ethnic origins.