A team of scientists has found that a child is nearly twice as likely to develop type 1 diabetes if the father has the condition rather than the mother. This study, the largest of its kind, was published in the journal Diabetologia. The findings indicate that exposure to type 1 diabetes in the womb provides long-term protection against the condition for children with affected mothers, compared to those with affected fathers. Researchers believe that understanding the reasons behind this protection could pave the way for new treatments to prevent type 1 diabetes.
“Individuals with a family history of type 1 diabetes are 8-15 times more likely to develop the autoimmune condition - however, studies have shown the risk is higher if the affected relative is the father rather than the mother. We wanted to understand this more,” said lead researcher Dr Lowri Allen from Cardiff University in the UK.
Previous research has indicated that maternal type 1 diabetes provides some degree of protection against type 1 diabetes in children during early life. A recent study, which included 11,475 individuals diagnosed between the ages of 0 and 88, found that they were nearly twice as likely (1.8 times more likely) to have a father with type 1 diabetes compared to a mother with the condition.
"Taken together, our findings suggest the relative protection associated with having a mother versus father with type 1 diabetes is a long-term effect that extends into adult life," said Allen!
The likelihood of having a father with type 1 diabetes, as opposed to a mother, increased if the parent received the diagnosis before the individual's birth.
In other words, a child seems to have a lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes if their mother has the condition during pregnancy, compared to if their father has type 1 diabetes. Further research is needed to understand what specific factors related to exposure to type 1 diabetes in the womb are most significant.
*Is it exposure to high blood glucose levels, insulin treatment, antibodies associated with type 1 diabetes, a combination of these, or exposure to another aspect of type 1 diabetes?" asked researchers.
ALSO READ: Boys are at greater risk of developing Type 1 diabetes than girls: Study
