Data were retrospectively analysed from 52 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from a population-based treatment referral cohort, from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2007. Over this time, the annual incidence of new cases of T2DM in children <15 years increased 5-fold in the Auckland region (from 0.5/100,000 in 1995 to 2.5/100,000 in 2007). The average annual incidence per 100,000 over the entire period was 1.3 overall, 0.1 in Europeans, and 3.4 in both Māori and Pacifica. Fifty-seven percent of children were symptomatic at presentation. Fifty-eight percent of patients were treated with insulin from diagnosis, most of whom were symptomatic. Follow-up data were available for 48 patients with a mean of 2.4 yr. Although insulin therapy was associated with a greater fall in HbA1c values in the first 12 months of treatment (to a nadir of 7.1 vs 8.1%; p<0.05), there was a rapid deterioration after 12 months, and subsequent mean HbA1c values were >9% in both groups.
