Younger age at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children of immigrated families born in Germany

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that results from the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells. Genetic and environmental causes contribute to this phenomenon. Environmental determinants are poorly understood, even if their role is crucial in the trend of increasing incidence. Immigration from developing countries to a westernised area causes rapid changes in the environmental conditions. Therefore we investigated whether the migration status is associated with age at diagnosis of diabetes. Materials and methods: All together 193 records of T1D patients have been checked for this st…