Gut bacteria tests in babies could point to type 1 diabetes

Early detection would enable dietary changes to prevent potentially life-threatening condition

A BABY’S gut bacteria may predict future type 1 diabetes up to two decades before the onset of the disease, scientists have found.

Researchers said the findings could be used to identify those at risk of the condition, and result in the introduction of dietary changes to prevent it.

The Swedish study, which tracked children for up to two decades, found that by the age of one, the core microbiome of those who went on to develop type 1 diabetes was significantly different from that of other babies.

The group who became diabetic had far more bacteria which promote inflammation, a cause of ill-health, and far fewer health-promoting bacteria, which maintain metabolic and immune health, and keep the colon healthy.

Type 1 diabetes often arises in childhood, the disease occurring when the body’s own immune system gradually destroys the pancreatic islet beta cells that make insulin.

Being able to identify gut microbial biomarkers as early as 12 months could offer prediction opportunities much earlier, allowing steps to be taken to prevent the condition, scientists said.

The Swedish research, published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, tracked 16 babies who developed type 1 diabetes with 32 who remained healthy up to the age of 20. Among those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the average age of diagnosis was 13, with the youngest aged 16 months, and the oldest aged 21 years.

Co-lead author Dr Malin Belteky, of Crown Princess Victoria’s Children’s Hospital, Sweden, said: “Our findings indicate that the gut of infants who go on to develop type 1 diabetes is notably different from healthy babies and that several microbial biomarkers associated with future disease may be present as early as one year of age.”

She added: “This discovery could be used to help identity infants at highest risk of developing type 1 diabetes before or during the first stage of disease and could offer the opportunity to bolster a healthy gut microbiome to prevent the disease from becoming established.”

About 400,000 people are currently living with type 1 diabetes in the UK, including around 30,000 children.

Babies’ gut bacteria are affected by a number of factors, including how they are delivered, with those born vaginally getting most of their bacteria from their mothers, and breast milk boosting gut health.