The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) today released the Statistical Yearbook of the Puerto Rico Education System 2013-2014.

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They reveal an increasing trend in the incidence of Type 1 Diabetes in the

pediatric population in Puerto Rico

At the launch of the first Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Platform in Puerto Rico

The incidence rate of Type 1 Diabetes in the pediatric population (new cases per 100,000 people between 0 and 18 years of age) shows a tendency to increase over the years, with 2009 being the year with the lowest rate (20.5), and 2021 the year with the highest rate (38.4). Although there are variations, on average, the incidence rate shows an increasing trend of 1% per year. In the most recent available year, 2022, the incidence rate was 34.2 new cases per 100,000 people between 0 and 18 years old. These data were revealed during the presentation of the first Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Platform in Puerto Rico, developed by the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico in partnership with the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation. This platform provides essential statistical data for understanding and addressing Type 1 Diabetes in Puerto Rico and is available at: https://estadisticas.pr/en/diabetes-tipo-1.

“These data are essential to be able to establish public policies for management, allocation of funds and resources, for researchers, doctors and for the families of patients living with diabetes. We needed an entity such as the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute with the expertise and willingness to help us with the statistical process, which resulted in an important alliance of will between the Foundation and the Institute. Today we can present the result of the collaboration between the Foundation and the Institute,” said Bernardo Maldonado, president of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Pediatric Diabetes Foundation.

According to the executive director of the Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, this platform represents an essential advance in the understanding and management of Type 1 Diabetes in the pediatric population. “These findings, presented for the first time on an interactive platform, provide a detailed view of the situation of Type 1 Pediatric Diabetes in Puerto Rico, which is essential for guiding public health policies and resource allocation,” said Dr. Disdier.

The findings detailed on the platform reveal significant data for the period from 2009 to 2022. Among these, the following stand out:

• Between 2009 and 2022, a total of 2,850 people between 0 and 18 years of age were diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes for the first time. On average, 204 cases of Type 1 Diabetes are diagnosed annually in people 18 years of age or younger.
• Most of the cases (67%) diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes for the first time were between 5 and 14 years old. The average age of these cases was approximately 10 years.
• Overall, 53% of the cases were male and the remaining 47% were female.

In addition, Mariana Benítez Hilera, executive director of the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation, emphasized the Foundation's work in collecting unique data since 2008. This is thanks to a collaborative alliance with the hospitals where these patients are diagnosed and pediatric endocrinologists. “Once a child is diagnosed with diabetes, the first help they receive at the hospital is from our Foundation, which in turn helps us to have contact with their family right from the start and help them throughout the education process,” said Benítez Hilera.

Dr. Marina Ruiz, a pediatric endocrinologist, emphasized that Type 1 Diabetes is the type of diabetes that most affects the pediatric population. “It's an autoimmune condition that has no cure and can't be prevented. The condition requires a multidisciplinary team, such as the one found at the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation, to achieve successful management. This is the first time that statistics on diabetes in children aged 0 to 18 have been generated in Puerto Rico, which will help position our island on the world map with validated and reliable data. This will lead to the development of clinical studies in the near future to continue expanding our knowledge of the condition. In addition, it helps to carry the message to communities so that they have symptoms present and thus avoid acute and/or chronic complications.” said Ruiz.

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PRESS RELEASE

Puerto Rico Statistics Institute Urges Secretary of Health to Provide Data on Covid-19 on the Island

April 8, 2020: In view of the non-compliance with the submission of data on COVID-19 in Puerto Rico and in accordance with Act No. 209-2003, as amended, known as the Statistics Institute Act, the executive director of that entity, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, made a formal request to the Secretary of the Department of Health (DS), Dr. Lorenzo González Feliciano, to provide the necessary data. “Although the Institute's Information Requirements Regulations state that, in response to an Official Information Request, the agency has up to 20 days to provide it, we ask the DS to do so immediately, as this is a matter of the highest priority, given the likelihood that infections and deaths will continue to increase in Puerto Rico,” said Disdier.

The Law that created the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) states that its purpose is to promote changes in data collection and statistics systems so that they are complete, reliable and accessible quickly and universally. To this end, the Institute has the primary mission of coordinating the Statistics Production Service of the Government of Puerto Rico, of requesting information, both from the public and private sectors, and of developing the policy for the development of the public statistical function. According to Disdier, although most agencies comply with this, unfortunately there are others that do not do their duty.

“Since long before this COVID-19 emergency began, the Institute has been communicating, through official email and phone calls, with the Department of Health to offer collaboration and request that they provide us with detailed data on cases of COVID-19 in Puerto Rico. In addition, we have held communications and meetings with staff from Fortaleza and with some members of the Task Force that advises the governor on this pandemic. They repeatedly state that they will provide the data, but the reality is that they arrive late, incomplete, in inadequate formats or there are days when they simply don't arrive,” he said.

Specifically, the Institute has requested the following information and detailed data, for each individual being tested for COVID-19 in Puerto Rico: Case number (Unique ID), sex (M, F, or other), region of residence, municipality of residence, age (in years), test results for COVID-19 (positive, negative, pending, undetermined, or other), date of onset of symptoms (day and month), date of sample collection or date of submission of the sample (day and month), and if the person died.

Disdier highlighted that, in order to promote greater collaboration, the Institute served as a facilitator and for a few days now, the project to implement a rapid system for the daily collection of data on COVID-19 in hospitals has been successfully completed. As a result, every day the Department of Health receives data from hospitals, in a fast, simple and standardized way.

“It is now up to the Department of Health to share the revised and official data with the Institute. That is, right now we should be receiving these official data on a daily basis and that is not happening. These data are necessary so that the Institute can keep citizens informed and to develop action plans that make it feasible to control this pandemic,” concluded Disdier.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200

Lourdes Burgos, R-27, 787-562-2932

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