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Prenatal and early life factors and type 1 diabetes

Alexia G Abela1, Stephen Fava2

  • 1University of Malta Medical School, Msida, Malta.

Endocrine
|April 28, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Environmental factors like hygiene practices may influence type 1 diabetes risk. Increased hand washing and house cleaning were linked to higher risk, while getting dirty was linked to lower risk.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Type 1 diabetes prevalence is rising globally.
  • Environmental factors are increasingly implicated in its pathogenesis.
  • Identifying these factors is crucial for understanding disease etiology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of prenatal and perinatal factors in type 1 diabetes etiology.
  • To explore potential environmental influences on disease development.

Main Methods:

  • Case-control study interviewing mothers of type 1 diabetes patients and matched controls.
  • Data collected on various prenatal and perinatal factors.
  • Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

Main Results:

  • Hand washing before eating and frequent house cleaning showed independent associations with increased type 1 diabetes risk.
  • Increased frequency of bathing was associated with higher risk on univariate analysis.
  • Getting dirty was associated with reduced risk, suggesting microbiome involvement.

Conclusions:

  • Factors influencing the skin or gut microbiome may play a significant role in type 1 diabetes.
  • Hygiene practices and exposure to microbes warrant further investigation.
  • These findings suggest a departure from infection-centric hypotheses.
Abstract

Keywords:
Environmental factorsHygiene hypothesisMicrobiomePsychological stressType 1 diabetes

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