DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ANALYSIS IN CHILDREN WITH DIABETES MELLITUS REFERRED TO THE PAEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY OUTPATIENT UNIT IN STARA ZAGORA IN 1990-2020

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a disease with considerable variation in clinical presentation and progression. Epidemiological studies are the key to unravelling the still incompletely understood aetiology and pathogenesis. Aim: To analyse demographic data (age, sex, place of residence, ethnos and age of T1DM onset) over a 30-year period. Material and methods: A longitudinal study was performed of 184 children monitored in a children's endocrinology practice in the city of Stara Zagora in the period 1990-2020. The patients were divided in 3 groups during three time periods: 1990–2000 – 51 patients, 2001-2010 – 80 patients and 2011-2020 - 53 patients. The analysis is a descriptive representation of patient demographics during their first visit. The statistical processing was done using SPSS Statistics 26, one tailed t-test, one-way ANOVA, Chi-Square tests. Results: For the three time periods, patients aged 10–18 were more prevalent, alongside the male gender (p=0.036). In the interval 2011-2020, there was a significantly higher difference in morbidity in patients from small towns and villages compared to large cities (p=0.001) and in the groups of Bulgarian ethnic groups (p>0.011) compared to other ethnic groups and previous years. In the three allocated intervals, the average age of onset of T1DM was 9.44, 9.86 and 8.67, respectively (p=0.316). Conclusion: T1DM in childhood is a serious health, social and psychological problem. The dynamics of modern life require periodic skills improvement of medical specialists and dynamic adaptation of the legal framework concerning children's health.