Type 1 diabetes (T1D) doesn’t discriminate. It affects people of all races, ethnicities, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Although its exact causes are unknown, researchers have uncovered type 1 diabetes risk factors that increase a person’s likelihood of developing the condition.
Family history
Having a family history of type 1 diabetes is the highest risk factor for developing the disease—a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) with T1D increases your risk up to 15-fold. However, nearly 85% of diagnoses occur in people who have no family members with the disease.
Breakthrough T1D-funded researchers have tracked data from nearly 8,000 high-risk children to estimate future risk for T1D more precisely in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. A family follow-up to this study focuses on screening and monitoring siblings and parents of TEDDY participants, who have an increased genetic risk for T1D. The goal is to enhance early detection and prevention programs, better understand the natural progression of T1D, and potentially identify new genetic markers that can help predict the risk of T1D development.
Early Detection
Thanks to advances in research and a better understanding of the human immune system, we are now able to identify a person’s risk for T1D many years before the onset of symptoms through a simple blood test. Screening can reduce the risk of complications at diagnosis and also help researchers better identify who is at risk. This leads to the development of disease-modifying therapies that can slow, halt, or reverse the progression of T1D.
Age
A person’s age is a type 1 diabetes risk factor. While people can experience the onset of T1D at any age, many are diagnosed in early elementary school or as preteens, with ages 10-14 having the highest occurrence of diagnoses.
Environmental triggers
Research has not found a definite environmental trigger for type 1 diabetes. Viruses and exposure to gluten, cow’s milk, antibiotics, and more have all been extensively studied, yet no certain links have been made. “The evidence has not been conclusive,” says Laura Jacobsen, M.D., Assistant Professor and Pediatric Endocrinologist at the University of Florida. “It may be because there are multiple or different triggers for different subsets of the population.”
Ethnic and geographic triggers
The risk for type 1 diabetes has historically been highest in those with white European ancestry. However, the diversity of the population with T1D is increasing, meaning the risk is going up in minority populations. Research is ongoing in this area to address this increasingly global problem. Visit the T1D Index for a detailed look at type 1 diabetes prevalence around the world.
Geographically, there are countries where the risk of T1D is higher than others, but “ultimately it is underlying genetics that impact risk,” Dr. Jacobsen said.
Researchers are still trying to understand how and why genes and environment are T1D risk factors. Breakthrough T1D continues to fund this research so that, one day, we will be able to prevent, reverse, and cure type 1 diabetes.
