Maternal type 1 diabetes may protect children through epigenetic changes
Type 1 Diabetes: Risk Differs Depending on Affected Family Member
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the body’s own insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas, leaving patients with a lifelong dependency on external insulin. Children whose parents or siblings have type 1 diabetes have an 8- to 15-fold increased risk of developing the autoimmune disease themselves. However, this risk is not evenly distributed: the child of a mother with type 1 diabetes has a lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes than a child with a father or sibling with type 1 diabetes. Of interest, ...