New research presented at EASD reveals the impact of parental history on the development of type 1 diabetes in offspring.
Children are almost twice as likely to develop type 1 diabetes if their father has the condition compared to if their mother has the condition.
Exposure to type 1 diabetes in the womb provides long-term protection against the condition in children with affected mothers.
Research suggests that exposure to type 1 diabetes in the womb is critical for relative protection, regardless of inherited genetic risk.
The study, the largest of its kind, included data on over 11,000 individuals with type 1 diabetes and their parents.
Understanding why having a mother with type 1 diabetes offers relative protection could lead to new treatments to prevent the condition.
New research presented at a recent conference revealed that children are almost twice as likely to develop type 1 diabetes if their father has the condition compared to if their mother has it. This study, the largest of its kind, found that exposure to type 1 diabetes in the womb provides long-term protection against the condition in children with affected mothers. The researchers suggest that understanding the reasons behind this protection could lead to the development of new treatments to prevent type 1 diabetes.
The study involved a meta-analysis of data from five different studies, with a total of 11,475 individuals with type 1 diabetes. The results showed that individuals were nearly twice as likely to have a father with type 1 diabetes as a mother with the condition. The researchers used a genetic risk score to compare the inherited genetic risk between individuals with affected mothers and fathers, and found that the relative protection against type 1 diabetes wasn’t due to genes but rather to exposure to the condition in the womb. Further research is needed to explore the specific factors that contribute to this protection and to develop new therapeutic approaches for preventing type 1 diabetes.
