Association between infectious diseases and type 1 diabetes: a case-crossover study
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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

A High-Throughput Multiplexed Screening for Type 1 Diabetes, Celiac Diseases, and COVID-19
Published on: July 5, 2022
Ze Yang1, Fan Zhou, Janice Dorman
1Institute of Geriatrics and Beijing Hospital, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China.
Background:
To investigate the role of infectious diseases in the development of type 1 diabetes, this study estimated the relative risks of type 1 diabetes immediately after infectious diseases.
Research Design And Methods:
A case-crossover design was employed. Information on infectious diseases during 407 d before the onset of type 1 diabetes was collected from medical records and parents' interviews for 260 patients in Chinese type 1 diabetes registry. The frequency of infectious diseases in 42 d before the onset of type 1 diabetes was compared with either the usual frequency of infectious diseases over the past year or the actual frequency of infectious diseases in a comparable 42-d control period.
Results:
Forty-eight (18%) patients were reported to have infectious diseases during this period based on medical records and interviews with parents. The relative risk of type 1 diabetes onset was markedly elevated to 10.1 (5.6, 17.9) immediately after infectious diseases, suggesting the role of infections as a precipitator. The relative risk decreased gradually before and after 42 d and was similar between male and female patients.
Conclusion:
The results showed that infectious diseases are associated with a large and transient increase in the risk of type 1 diabetes during 42 d after the infection.
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