Antibody-positive males face higher risk for type 1 diabetes progression

The risk for progression to type 1 diabetes (T1D) is significantly higher in antibody-positive males compared with females, with age differences in risk trajectories, according to a study scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, being held from Sept. 9 to 13 in Madrid.

Erin L. Templeman, from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, and colleagues assessed the risk and rate of progression for individuals at risk for T1D participating in the TrialNet Natural History study. The analysis included 235,765 relatives of people with T1D screened for autoantibody (AB) positivity.

The researchers found that the proportion of individuals who screened positive for ABs was higher in males (females: 0.05; males: 0.054). Of those screening positive, males were more likely to screen positive for multiple ABs (females: 0.018; males: 0.026). Additionally, the absolute five-year risk for progression to T1D was significantly higher among males who were single AB-positive (14% for females versus 21% for males).

A similar risk was seen for males and females presenting with stage 1 (females: 38%; males: 38%) or stage 2 (females: 57%; males: 59%). For females, a large decrease in five-year T1D risk was seen when screened and autoantibody-positive before age 10 years versus after age 10 years. However, there was a steady decline in five-year T1D risk among males as age at screening increased.

“The change in risk at around the age of 10 raises the hypothesis that puberty-related hormones may play a role,” the authors said in a news release.

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