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Cord blood islet autoantibodies and seasonal association with the type 1 diabetes high-risk genotype

Journal of Perinatology volume 28, pages 211–217 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

Human leukocyte antigen DQ (HLA-DQ) genetic factors and islet autoantibodies are strongly associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and are currently used to predict T1D. This study examined whether islet autoantibodies in the cord blood of newborns to nondiabetic mothers were associated with the (T1D) high-risk genotype HLA-DQ2/8, gestational infections or both.

Study Design:

Cord blood samples were taken from 33 683 newborns and used for HLA typing and analyses of islet autoantibodies. Parents completed questionnaires when the child was 2 months of age.

Result:

The prevalence of newborn islet autoantibodies consistently varied with season over 4 years (P<0.0001); lowest in first quarter (1.2%) and highest in third (2.4%). Cord blood islet autoantibodies were associated with HLA-DQ2/8 in the second (OR, 2.30; P=0.02), third (OR, 2.12; P=0.008) and fourth quarters (OR, 2.49; P=0.007), but not in the first (OR, 1.13). Reported gastroenteritis was additionally associated with islet autoantibodies in the third quarter (OR, 1.80, P=0.04).

Conclusion:

An association between HLA and islet autoimmunity may depend on environmental exposure during pregnancy. Follow-up of mothers and children will determine risk of T1D.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Anita Nilsson, Barbro Gustavsson, Anastasia Katsarous and Hamideh Rastkhani, for expert technical assistance. The DiPiS study was made possible through a joint JDRF-Wallenberg Foundation grant in 1995 to 2000 but stalled by the Lund University Ethics Committee for 2 years. It was possible to complete the study through grants from the Medical Faculty of Lund University, the Swedish Research Council (grant no. 14064), the Swedish Diabetes Association, the Swedish Childhood Diabetes Fund, the UMAS Fund, the Skåne County Council and the National Institutes of Health (DK26910), the Terry Louise Gregg's Awarded, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lion Club International District 101-5. Members of the DiPiS study group include: P Almgren, B Gustavsson, B Buveris-Svendburg, A Carlsson, E Cederwall, G Hansson, I Hansson, B Jönsson, K Kockum, H Elding Larsson, K Larsson, S Lindehammer, B Lindberg, J Neiderud, A Nilsson, M Pelkonen, J Heins, A Shalonie and S Sjöblad.

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Author notes

  1. All members of the DiPiS study Group are listed in the Acknowledgement.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Sciences, University Hospital MAS, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    K F Lynch, B Lernmark, J Merlo, C M Cilio, S-A Ivarsson & Å Lernmark

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Å Lernmark

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  1. K F Lynch
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for the Diabetes Prediction in Skåne (DiPiS) Study Group

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Correspondence to K F Lynch.

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Lynch, K., Lernmark, B., Merlo, J. et al. Cord blood islet autoantibodies and seasonal association with the type 1 diabetes high-risk genotype. J Perinatol 28, 211–217 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211912

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