Is Winter Responsible for Type 1 Diabetes

Mon, 24 Aug 2009
Finnish researchers have discovered a correlation between winter and new cases of Type 1 diabetes .

The study involved the analysis of data relating to 31,000 children from 105 Diabetic Centres across 53 countries. They found a connection between the season and the onset of Type 1 diabetes .

The findings have been published in the journal Diabetic Medicine .

This research also uncovered that diabetes centres further away from the equator are more likely to have more new cases in winter. This winter trend was more evident in boys and older age groups (5-14).

The Finnish leader of this study, Elena Moltchanova, Statistician at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, stated that there are various reasons for the apparent seasonality of the onset of Type 1 diabetes.

They include a seasonal variation in people’s levels of blood glucose and insulin, seasonal viral infections, the fact that young people tend to eat more and do less exercise during the winter months. Along a similar vein, younge people have a rest from school stress in the summer holidays and have a greater opportunity to play outdoors.

Further investigation could provide answers as to what could be triggering the development of Type 1 diabetes.

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