Your risk is considerably higher if you have a relative with T1D, particularly a parent or a sibling, as well as having a history (or family history) of certain autoimmune conditions, such as celiac disease, Hashimoto’s disease, or others. Common infections or other environmental factors may also increase the risk of T1D, but we still do not know the full extent of risk factors.
Type 1 diabetes autoantibodies are markers that confirm your immune system is attacking beta cells. Eventually, these attacks lead to the destruction of beta cells, decreased insulin production, and clinical T1D. Development of autoantibodies can happen months or even years before symptoms appear, providing a chance to catch T1D early.
You definitely should get screened if you have a family history of T1D. But since 90% of people diagnosed with T1D have no family history, experts are now considering that everyone in the general population gets screened, particularly if you have some of the other risk factors mentioned above.
If you have two or more T1D autoantibodies signaling damage to beta cells, you will likely develop clinical T1D within your lifetime. Even just one autoantibody signifies a higher risk for T1D. Based on the test results, your doctor may recommend additional tests or appropriate blood sugar monitoring, and you should talk to your doctor about when and how to follow up.
There is now an FDA-approved treatment, called teplizumab, to delay the onset of stage 3 T1D in children and adults 8 years of age or older who have stage 2 T1D (2 or more autoantibodies and some blood sugar abnormalities, but no symptoms). It is administered as an intravenous infusion once a day for 14 straight days, with each infusion lasting approximately 30 mins. In addition, numerous other immunotherapies are in clinical trials.
This option should be discussed with your doctor to find out if enrolling in a clinical trial is right for you, depending on your symptoms, blood sugar control, and T1D stage. This is an exciting time in T1D, with numerous clinical trials underway to investigate new ways to not only slow the progression of the disease, but also prevent and possibly even cure it.
