4th International Conference on Primary Health Care & 2nd Euro Nursing Congress
September 15-16 2025 | Virtual Event
Terri H. Lipman
University of Pennsylvania, USA
The Philadelphia Pediatric Diabetes Registry (PPDR) began in 1985 and is the only registry
in northeastern United States that provides data regarding the incidence of type 1 diabetes
(T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children. The data were included in the WHO Multinational
Project for Childhood Diabetes (Diabetes Mondiale, DiaMond Study) with the goal of collecting
standard worldwide information on incidence, risk factors, and mortality associated with
T1D. In the PPDR, cases are identified via electronic health record for all newly diagnosed
cases of T1DM and T2DM in children 0-14 years old, including data on sex, date of diagnosis,
and race/ethnicity. The registry has identified a high rate of T1DM in Hispanic children
of Puerto Rican origin, markedly high incidence in non-Hispanic lack children, a doubling of
incidence in children 0-4 years over the course of the registry. It also identified an epidemic
of T1DM in Philadelphia following a measles epidemic, demonstrating how diabetes registries
provide a mechanism to track the impact of infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has
generated many questions regarding whether the virus could trigger the onset or worsen the
course of diabetes. Data will be discussed on the association of COVID-19 virus/ pandemic
with new onset T1D and T2D in children, the association of COVID-19 virus/ pandemic with
diabetic ketoacidosis and metabolic decompensation, and the mechanism of impact of the
COVID-19 virus on the course of diabetes. Many studies have been published on epidemics
of diabetes, yet few have been derived from population-based registries. More research is
needed to identify the causes of the rising incidence of T1D and T2D in children and the effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes.
Terri Lipman is a Professor Emerita at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and a Researcher at
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Her research is focused on diabetes epidemiology
and racial disparities in the treatment and outcomes of children with diabetes.