Enterovirus Infection May Increase Risk Of Type 1 Diabetes In Children

First Posted: Oct 19, 2014 09:43 PM EDT
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Children with the enterovirus infection are about 50 percent more likely to develop type 1 diabetes, according to recent findings published in the journal Diabetologia.

Enteroviruses work as a group of viruses that include the polioviruses and can cause a range of symptoms from mild cold-like symptoms, to illnesses with fever and rashes to neurologic problems.

"Type 1 diabetes is considered to be caused by complex interaction between genetic susceptibility, the immune system, and environmental factors," said lead study author Dr. Tsai Chung-Li, China Medical University, Taiwan, in a news release. "Though the cue for genetic predisposition has been elucidated, evidence also points to involvement of enterovirus (EV) infection, including viruses such as poliovirus, Coxsackievirus A, Coxsackievirus B, and echovirus."

For the study, researchers used nationwide population-based data from Taiwan's national health insurance system. They were determined to link any risk of type 1 diabetes in children with or without a diagnosis of EV infection during 2000-2008.

Findings revealed that the prevalence of type 1 diabetes was much higher in children infected with the enterovirus. Furthermore, researchers also discovered that the risk of type 1 diabetes increased with age at diagnosis of infection.

"Regions such as Africa, Asia, South America have a low but increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes and high prevalence of enterovirus infection; environmental factors like enterovirus infection may play a vital role in increasing incidence in these regions.

"Taiwan has relatively low type 1 diabetes incidence; we believe that the marked escalation of the said incidence in recent decades can be largely attributed to the highly endemic spread of enterovirus infection in Taiwanese children, given that there has been little gene flow and genetic drift in such a short period.

"This nationwide retrospective cohort study found a positive correlation of type 1 diabetes with EV infection. Our results suggest that preventive strategies, such as an effective vaccine against EV infection, may lessen the incidence of type 1 diabetes in Taiwan," researchers concluded.

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