Prevalence and characteristics of diabetes among Somali children and adolescents living in Helsinki, Finland

Objective: We compared the prevalence and characteristics of diabetes between Somali and Finnish children in the City of Helsinki. Subjects and methods: Ten Somali and 310 non-Somali children < 16 yr of age were treated for diabetes in Helsinki at the end of 2007. We analyzed autoantibodies, HLA alleles, and serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [ S25( OH) D] concentrations. Results: The prevalence of diabetes was 40/10 000 ( 95% CI 19-73/10 000) for the Somali children and 37/10 000 ( 95% CI 33-41/10 000) for the background population. At least one autoantibody was detected in all seven Somali patients sampled within 18 months after the diagnosis. Most Somalis ( 75%) carried HLA-conferred susceptibility to type 1 diabetes ( T1D), DR3-DQ2 being the dominating HLA haplotype. Low S25( OH) D levels (< 40 nmol/L) were seen in 83% of the Somali patients and in 60% of their siblings. Conclusions: These data show that ( i) Somali children have autoimmune diabetes, ( ii) the prevalence of T1D is similar among Somali and Finnish children, and ( iii) both affected and unaffected Somali children have low concentrations of S25( OH) D.