{"id":7571,"date":"2023-10-31T16:41:45","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T23:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakthrought1d.org\/pacificnwandseattleguild\/?p=7571"},"modified":"2025-12-01T20:24:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T20:24:53","slug":"lets-talk-about-screening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakthrought1d.org\/greaternorthwest\/2023\/10\/31\/lets-talk-about-screening\/","title":{"rendered":"LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT SCREENING"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Daughter\u2019s Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

In September 2018, our 9-year-old daughter was admitted to the hospital in Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA).<\/p>\n

In hindsight, the signs were all there \u2013 she had been urinating frequently, drinking lots of milk at meals, and losing weight.\u00a0 But we didn\u2019t have anyone with type 1 (T1D) diabetes in our family, so we didn\u2019t recognize what was happening.\u00a0 Her diagnosis involved a panicked drive through rush-hour traffic to the hospital, followed by IVs, an insulin drip, and a stay in the ICU.\u00a0 During the hospital stay, my daughter, my husband and I were inundated with information:\u00a0 short-acting insulin, long-acting insulin, carb counting, what to do when she went low, what to do when she went high, how to dose glucagon, going back to school.\u00a0 All three of us felt unprepared and overwhelmed. These felt like life and death issues, and we only had two days to get up to speed.<\/p>\n

If this sounds familiar, it\u2019s because ours is a very typical story.\u00a0 For 85-90% of people who are diagnosed with T1D, there is no prior family history.\u00a0 Consequently, most families are unfamiliar with the symptoms.\u00a0 In the US, 40-60% of children and teens are in DKA at the time of their diagnosis.<\/p>\n

What can prevent an outcome like ours, characterized by panic and fear?<\/p>\n

Screening!<\/p>\n

What is Screening for T1D?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.\u00a0 This means that the body develops antibodies against itself.\u00a0 In T1D, these autoantibodies attack the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.\u00a0 Four autoantibodies have been identified as being specifically linked to development of T1D:\u00a0 Insulin Autoantibody (IAA), GAD Autoantibody, IA-2 Autoantibody, and Zinc Transporter 8 Autoantibody (ZnT8).\u00a0 These autoantibodies develop over time.\u00a0 Screening involves a blood test, which identifies whether a person has developed any of these T1D autoantibodies.<\/p>\n

For the general population in the United States, the risk of developing T1D is ~1 in 300 or 0.3%.<\/p>\n

For people with a first-degree relative with T1D (sibling, child or parent), the risk is 15x higher, or ~1 in 20, or 5%.<\/p>\n

Stages of T1D<\/strong><\/p>\n

T1D disease progression occurs in stages, as outlined in the graphic below.<\/p>\n