Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Accelerated Type 1 Diabetes Induction in Mice by Adoptive Transfer of Diabetogenic CD4+ T Cells
Published on: May 6, 2013
Maternal exposure to air pollution and type 1 diabetes--Accounting for genetic factors
Ebba Malmqvist1, Helena Elding Larsson2, Ida Jönsson2
1Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden.
Background:
Genetic and non-genetic factors probably act together to initiate and accelerate development of type 1 diabetes [T1D]. One suggested risk factor contributing to development of T1D is air pollution.
Objective:
The aim of the study was to investigate whether maternal exposure during pregnancy to air pollution, measured as nitrogen oxides [NOx] and ozone, in a low-dose exposure area was associated with the child developing T1D.
Method:
In Scania (Skåne), the most southern county in Sweden, 84,039 infants were born during the period 1999-2005. By the end of April 2013, 324 of those children had been diagnosed with T1D. For each of those T1D children three control children were randomly selected and matched for HLA genotype and birth year. Individually modelled exposure data at residence during pregnancy were assessed for nitrogen oxides [NOx], traffic density and ozone.
Results:
Ozone as well as NOx exposures were associated with T1D. When the highest exposure group was compared to the lowest group an odds ratios of 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-2.65) was observed for ozone in the second trimester and 1.58 (95% CI 1.06-2.35) for NOx in the third trimester.
Conclusion:
This study indicates that living in an area with elevated levels of air pollution during pregnancy may be a risk factor for offspring T1D.
More Related Videos
09:09Generating a Reproducible Model of Mid-Gestational Maternal Immune Activation using PolyI:C to Study Susceptibility and Resilience in Offspring
Published on: August 17, 2022
07:13Induction of Maternal Immune Activation in Mice at Mid-gestation Stage with Viral Mimic PolyI:C
Published on: March 25, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Psychoneuroimmunology: Diabetes and Cancer
Asthma-I: Introduction