What do people make of this?

[David H]

Children help to reveal Diabetes Trigger

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-children-reveal-diabetes-trigger.html

 

[yorksman]

Well it starts with a sensational line:

"Newcastle University researchers suggest Type 1 diabetes could be infectious", ie, you can catch it but later on explains:

"Dr Richard McNally, Reader in Epidemiology at Newcastle University said: "There is a growing body of evidence that supports the idea that while children may be genetically predisposed to develop type 1 diabetes, it could be triggered by infection."

which is a very different thing.

It's almost like saying that you can catch Type 2 diabetes from eating food.

 

[Redkite]

I have always believed that to develop type 1, you need a genetic predisposition, and then certain viral infections cause a malfunction in the immune system, leading to destruction of the beta cells. The onset of type 1 happens when the beta cells are 90% destroyed (I believe it's 90%). In my son's case, the final straw was his second measles vaccination - three weeks after this he developed all the classic symptoms of the onset of type 1. Twenty or so years ago, the average age for a child to develop type 1 was 10 - but it has been increasing massively in the under 5's. I think this may be due to the large increase in multiple vaccinations that preschoolers now receive. This is not an argument against vaccination though, as I believe my son would have still developed type 1 (though maybe at a later age), and I wouldn't have wanted him contracting measles.

So this research idea is nothing new!

 

[DeusXM]

There's also the hygiene hypothesis as well, the idea that if children aren't exposed to dirt and germs early on in life, their immune system just gets too overexcited when a problem happens, leading to allergies and autoimmune conditions.