BTN News: Type 1 diabetes is a long-term illness. Unlike type 2 diabetes, it is caused by genes or some viruses. Scientists from the University of Cardiff in the UK have made an important discovery. They found that children are almost twice as likely to inherit type 1 diabetes (T1D) from their fathers than from their mothers. This study is the largest of its kind and offers new insights into the genetic causes of T1D. This information could lead to new ways to prevent the disease.
The study by the University of Cardiff is the most detailed research on this topic so far. It suggests that if a mother has T1D, her children might be protected against the disease. This protection does not seem to occur if the father has T1D. Dr. Lowri Allen, the lead researcher from Cardiff’s Diabetes Research Group, points out that people with a family history of T1D are 8 to 15 times more likely to develop the disease. This risk is higher if the affected family member is the father. Understanding why this happens could help scientists develop new ways to prevent T1D.
Dr. Allen and her team wanted to learn more about this protective effect. Earlier studies suggested that children with mothers who have T1D might be protected from the disease during their early years. The Cardiff study wanted to see if this protection continues into adulthood. They also wanted to find out what causes this protective effect.
To gather more information, the researchers looked at data from five studies. These studies included information about people with T1D and their parents. The analysis covered 11,475 people diagnosed with T1D at ages ranging from newborns to 88 years old. The results showed that these individuals were 1.8 times more likely to have a father with T1D than a mother. This was true for people diagnosed with T1D in both childhood and adulthood. The age at which people were diagnosed with T1D was similar whether their mother or father had the disease.
Dr. Allen concluded that the protective effect associated with having a mother with T1D lasts into adulthood. This finding is important because it suggests that maternal protection is a long-term effect. This understanding could help researchers develop new ways to prevent T1D by mimicking this maternal protective effect.
In Spain, the rate of type 1 diabetes varies widely across different regions. Every year, between 1,200 and 1,500 new cases of T1D are diagnosed in children under 15. This makes Spain a high-incidence country for pediatric T1D according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2021, there were 16,710 children in Spain diagnosed with diabetes, most of whom had T1D. This means about 2 out of every 1,000 children in Spain have T1D.
The University of Cardiff study not only helps us understand the genetic links to type 1 diabetes but also opens the door to new treatments. By exploring why maternal T1D provides a protective effect, scientists hope to find ways to prevent T1D in people who are at high risk. This could lead to new treatments that offer hope to future generations.
