Abstract
Background The incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) incidence is rising in many countries, supposedly because of changing environmental factors, which are yet largely unknown.
Purpose To unravel environmental markers associated with T1D. Methods: Cases were children with T1D from the French Isis-Diab cohort. Controls were schoolmates or friends of the patients. Parents were asked to fill a 845-item questionnaire investigating the child’s environment before diagnosis. The analysis took into account the matching between cases and controls. A second analysis used propensity score methods.
Results We found a negative association of several lifestyle variables, gastroenteritis episodes, dental hygiene, hazelnut cocoa spread consumption, wasp and bee stings with T1D, consumption of vegetables from a farm and death of a pet by old age.
Conclusions The found statistical association of new environmental markers with T1D calls for replication in other cohorts and investigation of new environmental areas.
Footnotes
↵□ Full list of collaborators in supplementary file 1
