Childhood diabetes isn't common, but there are marked variations around the world. Find out what causes it.

Type 1
Type 1 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in children: 90 to 95 per cent of under 16s with diabetes have this type. It is caused by the inability of the pancreas to produce the hormone insulin.

Type 1 diabetes is classified as an autoimmune disease, meaning a condition in which the body's immune system 'attacks' one of the body's own tissues or organs. In Type 1 diabetes it's the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas that are destroyed.

How common is it? Childhood diabetes isn't common, but there are marked variations around the world:

  • in England and Wales 17 children per 100,000 develop diabetes each year
  • in Scotland the figure is 25 per 100,000
  • in Finland it's 43 per 100,000
  • in Japan it's 3 per 100,000.
The last 30 years has seen a threefold increase in the number of cases of childhood diabetes, particularly in the under 5s.