Relationship between Mortality Status of Children with IDDM and Medical Infrastructures

This paper evaluates the relationship between the mortality status of IDDM patients and the medical infrastructures in the 1970's and the 1980's. The mortality status of 1394 IDDM cases which were identified by two nationwide surveys was determined as of 1-1-1985. A marked decline of mortality rate was seen in the cases diagnosed during 1970-79 compared to those diagnosed during 1965-69. Although the numbers of medical institutions and doctors per population in the 1970's were little different from those in the 1980's, a significant relationship between those numbers and mortality rates was observed only in the 1980's. This indicates that the larger number of doctors, medical institutions and dietitians per head of population had a favorable effect upon the mortality status in the most recent decade. The results suggest the importance of improving the uneven geographical distribution of both the quantity and quality of health care available to improve the mortality status of IDDM patients in Japan.