Are Proteins in Formula Linked to Type 1 Diabetes?

The study’s results don’t suggest any changes in guidelines for formula feeding to prevent type 1 diabetes. Purestock/Thinkstock

For decades, researchers have puzzled over why type 1 diabetes is becoming more common. Type 1 diabetes is a serious disease in which the body destroys the cells that make insulin. Insulin tells cells to take up sugar from your blood. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive.

Researchers have wondered whether infant formula made from cow’s milk might cause children to develop type 1 diabetes. Studies suggested that early exposure to the complex proteins in cow’s milk might lead the body to mistakenly attack the cells that make insulin.

To test this idea, researchers used two formulas. One group of infants received a formula made from cow’s milk. The other received a formula made from cow’s milk that was processed to break complex proteins into small pieces. All the infants enrolled in the study had a genetic makeup that put them at higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

The mothers were encouraged to use the assigned formula whenever they didn’t breastfeed. The analysis included infants who were fed formula at least 60 days.

The results showed that the chance of developing type 1 diabetes by age 10 was the same for children in both groups. The complex proteins in cow’s milk did not raise the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

“This once more shows us that there is no easy way to prevent type 1 diabetes,” says researcher Dr. Dorothy Becker at the University of Pittsburgh.

School Environment Affects Diabetes Risk

Healthier foods at school, longer and more intense physical activity and lessons in healthy lifestyles can reduce obesity and other risk factors for diabetes. These findings, from an NIH-funded study, suggest that school-based changes might help at-risk kids improve their health.

Nearly 1 in 5 school-age children in the U.S. is obese. This excess weight can lead to many health problems. The most serious is type 2 diabetes.

The new study was conducted at 42 middle schools where many students are minorities or from low-income families. Half the schools were randomly chosen to use the study’s “intervention” program: longer gym classes, more nutritious foods and education in healthy behaviors.

About 4,600 students were tracked from the beginning of 6th to the end of 8th grade. At the start, nearly half were overweight or obese. Many had other signs of high diabetes risk.

At the end of the study, kids who had been overweight or obese at the intervention schools had a 21% lower obesity rate than those at the comparison schools. Other diabetes risk factors, like larger waist size, also fell more at the intervention schools.

“The study shows that a school-based program can help lower obesity and certain risk factors for type 2 diabetes in youth at high risk for the disease,” says Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director of NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

School Guide Teaches ABCs of Diabetes

School-age children with diabetes face unique challenges. They may be vulnerable to serious swings in their blood glucose levels at any time. A newly updated booklet, “Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel,” can help. The guide offers suggestions for parents, teachers, principals and others to ensure the safety of these kids.

Diabetes is one of the most common long-term diseases in school-age children. It affects about 200,000 young people nationwide. Most students with diabetes must carefully monitor and control their blood glucose throughout the day. A severe drop in glucose levels can be life-threatening.

The guide urges parents to notify school officials that a child has diabetes. Parents are encouraged to partner with the child’s health care team to develop a diabetes medical management plan. The guide recommends that parents give permission for medical information to be shared by the school and health care team.

”Unfortunately, the need to manage diabetes doesn’t go away at school,” says Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director of NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “The guide, quite literally, can be a lifesaver.”

To view, download or order a free copy of the guide, go to www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/schoolguide(link is external),

Breastfeeding May Help Health After Gestational Diabetes

A study suggests that breastfeeding may help women with a history of gestational diabetes from later developing type 2 diabetes.

About 5-9% of pregnant women nationwide develop high blood sugar levels even though they didn’t have diabetes before pregnancy. This condition, called gestational diabetes, raises a woman’s risk for type 2 diabetes later in life. Left untreated, type 2 diabetes can cause health problems such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation.

Past studies found that breastfeeding causes certain changes in the mother’s body that may help protect against type 2 diabetes. However, the connection hadn’t been proven, especially among women who’d had gestational diabetes. An NIH-funded research team at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research set out to address the question.

The team enrolled more than 1,000 ethnically diverse women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Their lactation intensity and duration were assessed by feeding diaries, in-person exams, phone calls, and questionnaires. Researchers tested blood sugar 6 to 9 weeks after delivery and then annually for 2 years.

During the 2-year follow-up, nearly 12% of the women developed type 2 diabetes. After accounting for differences in age and other risk factors, the researchers estimated that women who exclusively breastfed or mostly breastfed were about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who didn’t breastfeed.

How long women breastfed also affected their chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Breastfeeding for longer than 2 months lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by almost half. Breastfeeding beyond 5 months lowered the risk by more than half.

“These findings highlight the importance of prioritizing breastfeeding education and support for women with gestational diabetes as part of early diabetes prevention efforts,” says study lead Dr. Erica P. Gunderson.

Five Lifestyle Factors Lower Diabetes Risk

A new study found that a combination of 5 healthy lifestyle factors may help reduce the chance of developing type 2 diabetes, even if family history puts you at risk for the disease.

People with diabetes have too high levels of glucose, a type of sugar, in their blood. Over time, high levels of glucose can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness and other problems.

Several lifestyle factors can reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. A research team led by Dr. Jared Reis of NIH studied 5 factors:

• having a healthy diet,
• keeping an ideal body weight,
• being physically active,
• not smoking, and
• minimizing alcohol use.

The team used data collected in the mid-1990s from more than 200,000 older adults. They then looked to see who had developed diabetes over the next decade.

The analysis showed that the more healthy lifestyle factors adopted, the lower the risk for diabetes. Men with all 5 healthy lifestyle factors had a 72% lower risk for developing diabetes. Women had an 84% lower risk.

A family history of diabetes is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes. But these results show that you may still be able to prevent or delay the disease by leading a healthy lifestyle.

“Not being overweight or obese led to the greatest protection,” Reis says. “However, we found that overweight or obese adults with a greater number of the other healthy lifestyle factors had a lower risk of developing diabetes. This is good news because it suggests that overweight or obese adults can benefit by adopting other healthy lifestyle behaviors.”

Eye disease is one of the most common and debilitating complications of diabetes. NIH especially encourages people with diabetes to take steps to avoid vision loss by having the exam each year.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults nationwide. An eye disorder known as diabetic retinopathy arises in about 40% of U.S. adults with diabetes. It occurs when blood vessels of the retina swell and leak fluid. In some cases, blood vessels become blocked and rupture, or new vessels grow on the retina, leading to permanent vision loss.

People with diabetes are also at risk for cataracts, which cause clouding of the eye lens, and glaucoma, which damages the optic nerve.

Comprehensive, dilated eye exams allow eye care professionals to monitor the eye, including the retina, for signs of disease. Diabetic retinopathy usually has no symptoms until vision loss occurs, but annual dilated eye exams can identify signs of it. In fact, about 90% of diabetes-related blindness is preventable through early detection, timely treatment and appropriate follow-up care.

Diabetes Increases in Children and Teens

The study found a rise in the rate of new cases of diabetes in youths under the age of 20.MarkHatfield/iStock/Thinkstock

A recent study found that rates of new cases of diabetes in children and teens rose during 2002 to 2012. The researchers reported increases in the rates of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

More than 29 million Americans are living with diabetes. People with diabetes have sugar (glucose) levels that are too high. Over time, high levels of blood glucose can cause many health problems.

In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive. Type 2 diabetes is caused when the body doesn’t make or use insulin well.

Researchers found that, for each year between 2002 and 2012, the rate of new cases of type 1 diabetes in youths under 20 rose by about 2%. The rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes in youths ages 10 to 19 increased by about 5%. Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is seldom diagnosed in children younger than 10.

The researchers noted that rates of diabetes rose significantly in certain racial and ethnic groups. For type 1 diabetes, the rate of new cases increased in Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, and non-Hispanic whites. For type 2 diabetes, the rate of new cases rose in Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans.

The study also detected differences in the rates for male and female youths. For type 1 diabetes, the rate rose more in males. For type 2 diabetes, the rate increased more in females.

“The differences among racial and ethnic groups and between genders raise many questions,” says Dr. Barbara Linder, NIH’s senior advisor for childhood diabetes research. “We need to understand why the increase in rates of diabetes development varies so greatly and is so concentrated in specific racial and ethnic groups.”

NIH-funded studies are now examining what factors may increase the risk of diabetes.

Experimental Therapy Shows Promise for Type 1 Diabetes

People with type 1 diabetes need to closely monitor their blood glucose levels.AndreyPopov/iStock/Thinkstock

Patients with difficult cases of type 1 diabetes were helped by transplants of insulin-producing islet cells. The experimental therapy helped to prevent dangerous drops in blood sugar levels.

People with diabetes have trouble managing and using blood glucose, a sugar that serves as fuel for the body. When blood glucose levels rise, islet cells in the pancreas normally make and secrete hormones such as insulin. Insulin triggers cells to take up sugar from the blood.

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys these insulin-producing cells. People with type 1 diabetes must regularly measure their blood glucose and use insulin injections to maintain their blood sugar levels.

When blood sugar levels drop too low (hypoglycemia), symptoms like shaking or sweating usually warn people to eat or drink to raise their blood sugar levels. However, many people with type 1 diabetes can’t tell when their blood sugar is too low. This raises their risk for severe hypoglycemia, which can cause seizures, loss of consciousness, and death.

One strategy to treat type 1 diabetes is to transplant pancreatic islets from deceased human donors. To test this experimental procedure, NIH-funded researchers studied 48 people with hard-to-treat type 1 diabetes. Participants received at least one transplant of pancreatic islets.

During the first year after treatment, 88% of participants were free of severe hypoglycemic events, had near-normal control of blood glucose levels, and were able to tell when their blood sugar was low. After 2 years, 71% still had these positive effects. Some people had side effects. Researchers are still monitoring the patients to assess the benefits and risks of this therapy.

“While still experimental, and with risks that must be weighed carefully, the promise of islet transplantation is undeniable and encouraging,” says Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director of NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Fact Sheet Highlights Diabetes Blood Test

About 7 million Americans today have diabetes but don’t realize it. This puts them at risk for the serious complications that can arise when diabetes is left untreated.

A new fact sheet from NIH describes a blood test called A1C, which can diagnose type 2 diabetes and even prediabetes. Prediabetes raises your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

You don’t need to fast before taking the A1C test, so it’s more convenient than other glucose tests often used to diagnose diabetes. The A1C test can also help patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to monitor their blood sugar (glucose) levels.

The new fact sheet covers a wide range of details about the A1C test, including how the test works, other blood tests for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, the accuracy of blood tests and more.