Professor Kathleen Gillespie
Professor of Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol
More than 400,000 people in the UK live with type 1 diabetes. Many consider it a condition of children and are surprised to learn that more than half of type 1 diabetes cases are diagnosed in adults (Rogers et al, 2017).1
Until now, research has largely focused on type 1 diabetes diagnosed in children. The Type 1 Diabetes Risk in Adults study (T1DRA; pronounced Tedra), is aiming to change this.
Early markers predict type 1 diabetes
Unlike many other conditions, type 1 diabetes can be very accurately predicted. Studies in children have shown that there are proteins in the blood that can be measured years before diagnosis occurs. These proteins (or antibodies) are often detectable in the first two years of life. Children who have two or more of these proteins in their blood early in life are more than 80% likely to develop type 1 diabetes by the age of 20 years (Ziegler et al, 2013).2 This largely explains type 1 diabetes in children — but how does type 1 diabetes develop in adults?
Anyone between the ages of
18 and 70 years can sign up.
Participate through accurate home testing
Over the last decade, the diabetes research team at the University of Bristol have optimised very accurate tests to measure the key antibodies in tiny blood samples (1/1000 of a teaspoon). Adult participants are asked to collect a small finger-prick blood sample at home and post it to the T1DRA study team. Once tested, they let study participants know if they are likely to develop type 1 diabetes in the future.
They will not be diagnosed in an emergency. Anyone with the antibodies will be supported and monitored for any changes yearly. To date, over 11,000 have joined, and the team can already see differences between antibody patterns in children and adults. This will help diagnose type 1 diabetes in adults more accurately in the future.
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 70 years can sign up. We would particularly like to encourage men and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds to take part in research so that our study results can reflect the population as a whole.
Visit the T1DRA website for more information: t1dra.bristol.ac.uk
[1] Rogers, Mary A M et al. “Fluctuations in the incidence of type 1 diabetes in the United States from 2001 to 2015: a longitudinal study.” BMC medicine vol. 15,1 199. 8 Nov. 2017, doi:10.1186/s12916-017-0958-6.
[2] Ziegler, Anette G et al. “Seroconversion to multiple islet autoantibodies and risk of progression to diabetes in children.” JAMA vol. 309,23 (2013): 2473-9. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.6285.
