Mothers with type 1 diabetes pass protective shield to children
Children born to diabetic mothers are 45% less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than those with diabetic fathers—a protective effect that persists into adulthood. The finding, drawn from five studies of 11,000+ patients, suggests intrauterine factors may offer lifelong disease resistance, opening new research avenues for prevention therapies.
Originaltitel: Relative maternal protection against type 1 diabetes: A combined analysis of 5 observational studies
<p>Context: Maternal (versus paternal) type 1 diabetes is associated with a relative reduction in type 1 diabetes risk in offspring during early life. Objective: To determine whether this effect extends into later life. To clarify the importance of intrauterine exposure to maternal type 1 diabetes, and baseline genetic susceptibility in this context. Methods: We compared the proportion of individuals with type 1 diabetes diagnosed age 0-88 years with affected mothers and fathers across five observational studies (n=11,475), and used random-effects meta-analyses to generate overall effect estimates. We examined this by age at diagnosis, and timing of parental diagnosis relative to offspring birth. We compared the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score (T1D-GRS2) of individuals with affected mothers and fathers. Results: Almost half as many individuals with type 1 diabetes had an affected mother versus father (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.48, 0.64), p&lt;0.0001). A lower proportion of individuals with affected mothers than fathers was apparent even amongst individuals diagnosed as adults (&gt;18 years) (OR 0.63 (95% CI 0.43, 0.91), p=0.01). The lower proportion of individuals with maternal versus paternal type 1 diabetes was only observed if maternal diagnosis preceded offspring birth (OR 0.51 (95% CI 0.37, 0.70), p&lt;0.001 versus OR 0.97 (95% CI 0.69, 1.38), p=0.87 after birth). T1D-GRS2 was similar between individuals with affected mothers and fathers (p=0.25). Conclusion: Our analyses suggest intrauterine exposure to maternal type 1 diabetes is associated with long-lasting relative protection against offspring type 1 diabetes, which is independent of genetic susceptibility as measured by T1D-GRS2.</p>