Risk for Developing Type 1 Diabetes Doubled with Paternal Link

Individuals are less likely to have type 1 diabetes if their mother has the condition than if their father is affected, according to a study scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, being held from Sept. 9 to 13 in Madrid.

Lowri A. Allen, M.B.Ch.B., from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis across five cohorts of individuals with type 1 diabetes (total, 11,475 individuals) to compare the proportion of individuals with affected fathers versus mothers.

The researchers found that almost twice as many individuals had an affected father versus mother (overall odds ratio [OR], 1.79). The proportion of individuals with an affected father was higher both among individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes older than 18 years (OR, 1.64) and those 18 years or younger (OR, 1.80). There was an excess of individuals with affected fathers only if parental diagnosis was before offspring birth compared with diagnosis after birth. Age at diagnosis and type 1 diabetes-free survival curves were similar among offspring of affected fathers and mothers.

"Further research is needed but ultimately, we hope that it might be possible in the future to offer treatments at the very earliest stages of life to prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes in individuals who are at particularly high risk of the disease," Allen said in a statement.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.