Type 1 Caused by lifestyle?

[moodwife]

Maybe, there's a tiny possibility, that the increase in Type 1 is due to increased awareness of symptoms so there are fewer of us dying...?

 

[catapillar]

Maybe, but let's hope that before they commenced on a study involving sticking needles in over 6000 children and receiving $1.7million of JDRF funding the researchers also at least considered obvious potential causes. I'm not sure, but I think if type 1 is diagnosed post mortem it would still get recorded as an incidence & acidosis (which is how you die if you die from DKA due to undiagnosed type 1) will show up in post mortem results.

 

[pinewood]

Often, the deprived area's have the largest amount of people with diabetes. So, could this factor be the same in the suburbs of Scotland. Could it be down to the poorer area's, poor lifestyles ie parents on benefits, out of work, cheap processed foods, poor housing, smoking, alcohol or children under achieving at school ? There is definitely a rise happening in the 21st century ?

I'm sure I've read studies that indicate the opposite for type 1; i.e. that it's more common in affluent areas.

For example:

Most countries with high incidence are Westernized, developed countries (e.g., see Diamond Project Group 2006), and even within Europe, incidence is correlated to gross national product (GNP) and other indicators of national prosperity (Patterson et al. 2001).

Studies have found higher incidence of type 1 in wealthier areas or in people with higher socioeconomic status within countries as well

 

[Robinredbreast]

I'm sure I've read studies that indicate the opposite for type 1; i.e. that it's more common in affluent areas.

Hi, are these recent studies ? Because diabetes seems to have changed over recent years. When typing type 1 into google, most links are about type 2, obesity and lifestyle.

http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/SDS2014.pdf
:- www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News_Landing_Page/UK-has-worlds-5th-highest-rate-of-Type-1-diabetes-in-children/List-of-countries-by-incidence-of-Type-1-diabetes-ages-0-to-14/

 

[Robinredbreast]

Maybe, but let's hope that before they commenced on a study involving sticking needles in over 6000 children and receiving $1.7million of JDRF funding the researchers also at least considered obvious potential causes. I'm not sure, but I think if type 1 is diagnosed post mortem it would still get recorded as an incidence & acidosis (which is how you die if you die from DKA due to undiagnosed type 1) will show up in post mortem results.

I have talked to my GP about my body (when deceased) being used for research at a medical institute/university.

 

[pinewood]

Hi, are these recent studies ? Because diabetes seems to have changed over recent years. When typing type 1 into google, most links are about type 2, obesity and lifestyle.

http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/SDS2014.pdf
:- www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News_Landing_Page/UK-has-worlds-5th-highest-rate-of-Type-1-diabetes-in-children/List-of-countries-by-incidence-of-Type-1-diabetes-ages-0-to-14/

Yes, there are lots of recent studies. I think you're right about type 2 but studies have shown that - for type 1 - higher socioeconomic status is associated with higher incidence of type 1.

This is one particular study from the US which found that greater education and affluence led to higher risk of type 1 and "attributes such as poverty and social security income" led to a reduced risk:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3269381/

 

[Juicyj]

I have talked to my GP about my body (when deceased) being used for research at a medical institute/university.

A very noble thing to do @Robinredbreast - I would also consider doing the same, as I don't think my body parts are much use for organ donation now.

 

[Johndotcom]

What a croc of **** that statement is re Lifestyle bring a cause of type 1 diabetes.
I have had it for over 50 years now and was diagnosed just before my 5th birthday, due to rapid loss of weight and kept "falling asleep" then waking up and carrying on as before, so I've been told.
I know many other very young children that had Diabetes from a extremely young age, some unfortunately didn't make it past 25 years, but things are different now, and not just the boiling of syringes or the testing of urine etc, with cow or pig insulin so (don't know how the Muslims catered having to take what was generally available then, Pork based was the norm).
I think the reporter of this story and this poor research etc should be put where it's best used, through a shredder!

 

[PD Oz]

Have a look at the literature on the dutch famine of 1944. Google the research and studies on disease effects including diabetes. Telling that children of affected mothers were far more susceptible to developing diabetes than others in the world born around that era unaffected by famine.

 

[superskye]

I was reading an a story in The Herald today talking about a study to investigate whether or not there may be a link between lifestyle and type 1 diabetes. The idea is that poor lifestyle causes direct damage to beta cells and these damaged cells are then attacked my the immune system, finishing them off.

I think the theory makes a lot of sense, as long as we use "lifestyle" and "environment" interchangeably. There are articles like this one about bad air causing metabolic distress, theories about PCBs, BPAs and other acronym-ed chemicals and compounds being poor for our general health. I can't imagine that any one thing in particular is to blame, but the prevalence of related articles, conspiracy theories, and legit scientifically researched findings about how we are immersing ourselves in a world full of potentially dangerous compounds I think is not something to ignore. Gluten, shampoo chemicals, low levels of mercury or radiation from cell phones... I don't know, but as someone diagnosed as a kid, I am now the minority in my community of local T1s and I now know more adults who were diagnosed as T1s in their 40s, 50s, 60s and even a 70year old than I know people who were diagnosed as kids which doesn't make much sense if we don't include lifestyle/environment as a primary factor for developing T1 also.

Its an intriguing topic for sure!

 

[catapillar]

I think the reporter of this story and this poor research etc should be put where it's best used, through a shredder!

I think that might be throwing the baby out with the bath water.

The way the study has be presented in some parts of the media might be dissatisfying & thats frustrating. But it would be a shame to tar the research with the the same brush

The research comes from Exeter, a world leading diabetes research centre where, I think, they discovered (or at least were instrumental in discovering) monogenic diabetes (MODY).

The aim of the research is a clinical trial to see if metformin in children at risk of type 1 can avoid developing diabetes by taking metformin prophylactically - if there is a potential that it might work & it might prevent just one kid developing type one do we really want to shred the research just because the answer might be unpalatable?

I guess I just see the research into the causes as a good thing, because at the moment there is no answer on the cause & if we can get a step closer to figuring out the cause then it's a step closer to preventing my kids getting type one & then they might even be able to figure out how to "turn off" what ever is causing it in me so that the can just give me some new beta cells & my immune system won't immediately try to kill them. Obviously that's several hundred steps down the line, but it starts somewhere. I like the idea of a start

 

[Billy Halliday]

I was reading an a story in The Herald today talking about a study to investigate whether or not there may be a link between lifestyle and type 1 diabetes. The idea is that poor lifestyle causes direct damage to beta cells and these damaged cells are then attacked my the immune system, finishing them off.

In my opinion it's certainly NOT the case that all Type 1 diabetes are caused by lifestyle or even a sizeable minority of cases. Given a lot of people have diabetes from infancy it's hardly likely to have been caused by lifestyle! However, the triggers aren't very well known as this seems like as good a theory as any for a small number of cases of adults getting diabetes?

I appreciate I'm only a sample size of 1 but when I was diagnosed I was really shockingly unhealthy. Obese, drinking too much, eating terribly and so on. I was sure I had type 2 and my GP suspected as much as well until my ketone results came back which were sky high. So could there be a link for SOME people? I was actually always glad 1 was Type I rather than Type 2, partly because I felt like I hadn't brought it on myself, but perhaps I did? If I did though I don't think it would bother me as much now as it would have back then given the very positive force diabetes has been in my life in terms of sorting out my health.

I worry about trials like this. It appears this has come off the back of the positive effects of the 'Norwich Diet' which seems to reduce or reverse Type 2 Diabetes and reduce the demand for Metformin. My partner was prescribed the drug but decided to try the diet first and was cleared of Type 2. My grandmother developed Type 2 and was prescribed Metformin and developed several reactions within a week. We altered her diet and she has not presented any symptoms since.
Why was this trial not held earlier. Surely when Metformin was discovered to be effective in Type 2 someone would have considered the effects on Type 1. Although I am no conspiracy theorist, I wonder how much influence the pharmaceutical companies have had in developing this trial.

 

[catapillar]

Metformin is cheap and generically available. I would suggest that makes it a poor choice for an evil greedy pharmaceutical company to be pushing. Especially when, if the result is to prevent type 1 developing said evil greedy pharmaceutical company will miss out on a life time type 1 customer who will need insulin & test strips for life, as well as any medications required due to diabetic complications.

 

[azure]

Have a look at the literature on the dutch famine of 1944. Google the research and studies on disease effects including diabetes. Telling that children of affected mothers were far more susceptible to developing diabetes than others in the world born around that era unaffected by famine.

Interesting. Some years ago I remember reading that underweight babies were at increased risk of Type 1.

 

[Robinredbreast]

What a croc of **** that statement is re Lifestyle bring a cause of type 1 diabetes.
I have had it for over 50 years now and was diagnosed just before my 5th birthday, due to rapid loss of weight and kept "falling asleep" then waking up and carrying on as before, so I've been told.
I know many other very young children that had Diabetes from a extremely young age, some unfortunately didn't make it past 25 years, but things are different now, and not just the boiling of syringes or the testing of urine etc, with cow or pig insulin so (don't know how the Muslims catered having to take what was generally available then, Pork based was the norm).
I think the reporter of this story and this poor research etc should be put where it's best used, through a shredder!

I think what is being said is, there are changes and increases in diabetes, we know that type 2 is an epidemic and need to question why ? and get answers. Also type 1 has been rising in the 21 st century, again, why ?
There could be many factors regarding type 1, but an increase in any medical condition, especially a chronic one like diabetes, needs thorough investigating. We must remember peoples lifestyles have changed dramatically over recent years.
I don't believe type 1 was 'lifestyle' decades ago, but something is happening now.

 

[azure]

@Robinredbreast The sharpest increase has been in very young children (under 6), I think? That's scary.

That makes me think it's something in the environment generally rather than individual 'lifestyles'.

 

[Robinredbreast]

@Robinredbreast The sharpest increase has been in very young children (under 6), I think? That's scary.

That makes me think it's something in the environment generally rather than individual 'lifestyles'.

Yes azure, my granddaughter was diagnosed @2 1/2 years in 2010, she will be 8 in September.

 

[Robinredbreast]

@Robinredbreast The sharpest increase has been in very young children (under 6), I think? That's scary.

That makes me think it's something in the environment generally rather than individual 'lifestyles'.

What I mean by 'lifestyles' :- ie, children not being out in the sun (when we get it) so many cleansers and anti bacterial sprays, even for washing that is put into the machine making our immune system less effective, there could be many factors.

 

[viv k]

I'm interested in the possibility of vitamin D deficiency being linked type 1. I'm fair skinned and live in the south of New Zealand. My maternal grandfather died of skin cancer and my maternal relations all have lesions removed regularly (2 have had melanoma) . Because of the skin cancer risk I have used sun lotion my entire life. When my sister got MS (which seems to be linked to low vit D), my vit D levels were tested and were found to be very low. I have no proof, but I wonder if my adult onset type 1 is related to vit D deficiency. We all take supplements now. On the bright side- no malignant skin cancers so far.

 

[noblehead]

I think that might be throwing the baby out with the bath water.

The way the study has be presented in some parts of the media might be dissatisfying & thats frustrating. But it would be a shame to tar the research with the the same brush

The research comes from Exeter, a world leading diabetes research centre where, I think, they discovered (or at least were instrumental in discovering) monogenic diabetes (MODY).

The aim of the research is a clinical trial to see if metformin in children at risk of type 1 can avoid developing diabetes by taking metformin prophylactically - if there is a potential that it might work & it might prevent just one kid developing type one do we really want to shred the research just because the answer might be unpalatable?

I guess I just see the research into the causes as a good thing, because at the moment there is no answer on the cause & if we can get a step closer to figuring out the cause then it's a step closer to preventing my kids getting type one & then they might even be able to figure out how to "turn off" what ever is causing it in me so that the can just give me some new beta cells & my immune system won't immediately try to kill them. Obviously that's several hundred steps down the line, but it starts somewhere. I like the idea of a start

Have to say that is a really good reply @catapillar, couldn't agree more