Type 1 Diabetes Among East African Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Black Youth in the U.S.

•Prevalence rates are 4 times higher for immigrant youth (6.20/1000 vs. 1.56/1000).•Immigrant youth are more likely to have severe DKA when present.•Immigrant youth are less likely to test positive for diabetes auto-antibodies.•Immigrant youth are nearly twice as likely to have 1st degree relative with T1D.

Type 1 diabetes has not previously been described in East African immigrant youth in the United States. The purpose of this study was to compare East African immigrant and nonimmigrant Black youth with type 1 diabetes. Among other clinical and demographic differences, estimated prevalence of type 1 diabetes was nearly four times higher among East African youth in King County, Washington (6.20/1000, 95% confidence interval (CI) [4.49, 7.91] vs. 1.56/1000, 95% CI [1.03, 2.09]) compared to nonimmigrant Black youth. These observations are lost within the Black/African American race classification and additional work is needed to confirm and further explore these findings.