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Spending the days at preschool seems to be able to reduce the risk of diabetes type 1. Stock image.
1 / 2Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
Sending young children to preschool can reduce their risk of developing type 1 diabetes, according to a new study. Exposure to viruses and bacteria is believed to be behind, according to the researchers.
The message comes from researchers in Finland who compiled existing research from several countries in the field. The connection is seen above all among children between 0 and 2 years of age.
– Children’s immune system develops a lot during the first years and we know that preschool is a place where you are exposed to various infectious agents, says Helena Elding Larsson, pediatrician at Skåne University Hospital and professor of autoimmune diseases at Lund University.
Trains the immune system
In total, the researchers have analyzed data from previous studies with a total of approximately one million children of which 3,700 had type 1 diabetes and compared those who stayed in childcare with those who did not.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own cells and leads to the sufferer not being able to produce the vital insulin themselves.
The reasons are not completely clear and may be several. But one theory that is supported by research is that the immune system has not been trained properly when the children are small. Children at preschool get more infections than those at home.
– It could be that the tolerance that the immune system develops when you get various infections can actually protect against autoimmune diseases, by the fact that the child can better handle the viruses that could possibly trigger them, says Helena Helena Elding Larsson, who read the study but not himself involved in it.
Children need to be infected
The researchers behind the study, which is published in the journal Jama Pediatrics, point out that there may be other factors that distinguish children in preschool from others and that may have a protective effect. It can, for example, be physical activity and a balanced and regular diet that also reduce the risk.
Helena Elding Larsson says that infections in the first years are good for several reasons.
– It can be difficult for the parents when you feel that the children are sick all the time. But it is good for the immune system to be trained and developed so that we can cope with infections later, she says.
In the study, the researchers did not take into account whether the children have type 1 diabetes in the family. This is highlighted as a weakness in the study as it is known that there is a heredity.
FACT Type 1 diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, the body’s own immune system has attacked the cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin and destroyed them so that they can no longer produce insulin. The body’s cells cannot absorb blood sugar without insulin. Then the blood sugar remains in the blood and the blood sugar level increases.
The cells instead burn the body fat when they do not get any energy from the blood sugar. A type of acid called ketones is formed if the cells burn a lot of fat. Too much ketones can harm the body.
Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin for life.
Type 1 diabetes usually develops in childhood or adolescence, but adults can also get the disease.
Source: 1177
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