Abstract:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is the major type of pediatric diabetes. According to the longitudinal epidemiology surveys in our national large metropolitans, the average annual incidence increasing rate is about three times higher that the average in the world, and the incidence increase in children under five years ranks the top, which indicates the younger trend of T1DM. The etiology and underlying mechanism of T1DM is complicated, with genetic susceptibility and environmental trigger factors as the main causes of T1DM. Early onset, long-term of disease course and poor glycemic control result in high incidence of chronic diabetic complications, and affect psychomotor development. Drug therapy, blood glucose monitoring, diabetes education, exercise and nutrition therapy are the fundamental measures for good glycemic control in pediatric T1DM. Artificial pancreas, stem cell islet differentiation and transplantation, and immune intervention may fundamentally improve the treatment and prognosis of T1DM in the future.

Key words: type 1 diabetes mellitus, diagnosis, therapy, child