The highest frequency of Coxsackie infections in the Slovakian child population, and of 'diabetic' births and manifestations, found earlier together with maximal risks from HLA II and IA-2A antibodies in late summer and early autumn, is now confirmed also for the insulin gene pattern in diabetic children and even also for their healthy close relatives.

At the ISPAD Meeting in Zurich, September 1998, A. Green reported a regionally varying incidence increase of childhood IDDM in Europe, with the highest relative rise in Middle and Eastern Europe -areas of major political and economic overthrow. Such heterogeneity can therefore have not only an ethnic 1 ' 2 but also a socio-economic background.The cumulative childhood (0-14 years) IDDM prevalence/ lCP childhood population in 38 districts of the Slovak Republic 1985-95 has normal statistical distribution (d'Agostino test) with the range between 15 and 63 diabetic children/10 5 . As the measure of the socio-economic background in districts, the size of the childhood population (SCP) and the gross economical turnover (GET) were chosen. Their relationship to childhood IDDM prevalence in two extremely situated districts and in a hypothetical mean district is shown in Table 1.

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