Early nutrition and risk of islet autoimmunity
and type 1 diabetes  
 

The change in type 1 diabetes incidence and other evidence suggests a role for environmental factors in the development of the disease. Nutritional factors early in life may contribute to the development of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes. Our objective is to study the relationship between early nutrition and the risk of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible children by combining data from established national and international cohorts (MIDIA, DIPP and DAISY), and children in the general population in a large Norwegian prospective cohort based on registry data (PAGE). Our main hypothesis is that there are nutritional factors in early life triggering the development of autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes.

Also in 2021, Nicolai Lund-Blix visited the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki.  He analyzed data from the Finnish DIPP-study (Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study). The results were presented at European Diabetes Epidemiology Group (EDEG) 2021. The data presented showed that the mother`s intake of gluten during the pregnancy did not affect the child`s risk of developing type 1 diabetes. 

This international cooperation will continue after the end of this project. 

Primary Investigators: Torild Skrivarhaug

Co-investigators/participants:  
Nicolai A. Lund-Blix (postdoc)
Geir Joner
Lars Christian Stene
 
External collaborators: 
Ketil Størdal, M.D., Ph.D., NIPH, Østfold Hospital Trust
Professor Suvi Virtanen, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
Professor Jill Norris, Ph.D., University of Colorado Denver, Colorado School of Public Health
Professor Pål R. Njølstad, M.D., Ph.D, Haukeland University Hospital, and KG Jebsen Center for Diabetes Research, University of Bergen