Children under three to five years of age with type I diabetes comprise a small proportion of all those with this disorder: less than 1% of all children are diagnosed in the first year of life, and less than 2% of children attending large pediatric diabetes centers fall into the under three-year age group. Nevertheless, recent experience, backed up by epidemiological studies, suggests a significant trend towards diagnosis of type I diabetes at a younger age.
Infants and toddlers with diabetes pose a series of important challenges to health care professionals. First, at the time of diagnosis, children often do not present with the classical early symptoms and signs of diabetes. Second, it is difficult to set up an appropriate therapeutic regimen for them. Third, it is a challenge to prevent serious hypoglycemia, which is especially important given hypoglycemia’s potential impact on the developing brain. Finally, from the psycho social standpoint, there
is the impact that a serious chronic disorder can have on the child and family.