Type 1 diabetes is one of the most frequent chronic diseases in childhood. More and more children under five are diagnosed with this disease, so the possible risk factors to improve their prevention are analyzed.
A new study from the University of Tel Aviv (UTA) suggests that the trigger could occur before birth, specifically that viral infections in pregnancy would increase the risk of diabetes in the child. In other words, that type I diabetes begins in the womb.
They have also been able to observe that children born in the fall or winter are more likely to develop childhood diabetes, because viral infections are more frequent in these seasons.
It is believed that infections affect the ability of insulin production of the baby's pancreatic cells in gestation. According to Prof. Zvi Laron, who led the research team,
"We found evidence that viral infections of the mother during pregnancy induced damage to the mother's pancreas and / or the fetus, evidenced by specific antibodies including those affecting the pancreatic cells that produce insulin."
Seasonality is especially significant, since it is believed that Children born in the fall to winter months would be more susceptible to developing the disease in childhood.
