Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM)
Type 1 diabetes
According to McCance & Huether (2019), type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common pediatric chronic disease and affects 0.17% of US children, and the incidence is increasing. Rosenthal & Burchum (2021) notes that in autoimmune-mediated DM, environmental-genetic factors are thought to trigger cell-mediated destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Generally, type 1 diabetes develops during childhood or adolescence, and symptom onset is relatively abrupt (Rosenthal & Burchum 2021). It, however, needs to be noted that type 1 diabetes can also develop during adulthood. Type 1 diabetes was once called juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). This term is no longer commonly used because older children are frequently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Peak onset at age 11–13 years four is slightly earlier for girls than boys. It is rare in children younger than one year and adults older than 30 years. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by severe insulin deficiency or no insulin secretion. Insulin is the mainstay of therapy for individuals with type 1 diabetes (American Diabetes Association, 2018).
