Family history of diabetes and clinical characteristics in children at diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes – a Swedish population-based study

Objective: To compare the prevalence of parental diabetes between children with and without type 1 diabetes, and to compare clinical characteristics at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children with, versus without, a family history of diabetes. Research Design and Methods: Parental diabetes among children with type 1 diabetes was compared with a general population cohort. Clinical characteristics were compared by family history of diabetes in parents and grandparents of 3,603 children with type 1 diabetes using relative risk and ANOVA. Results: Children with type 1 diabetes more often had parents with type 2 diabetes (RR 1.88, p<0.001) than children without diabetes. Children with type 1 diabetes and a family history of type 2 were more likely to be overweight or obese (p=0.002). Conclusion: A family history of type 2 diabetes and being overweight may contribute to increased risk of type 1 diabetes.