No Link Between Gluten, Childhood Diabetes

MUNICHRestricting an infants exposure to gluten, a protein found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and other foods containing wheat, barley or rye, for the first 12 months does not significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes in genetically at-risk children, according to a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Researchers at the Institute for Diabetes Research followed 150 babies with at least one parent or sibling who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Half of the infants were exposed to gluten in their diet for the first time at the age 6 months; the other half was exposed to gluten at 1 year.

Over the course of the 3-year study, the children were monitored for growth and autoantibodies to transglutaminase C (TGCAs), islet autoantibodies to insulin, GAD, insulinoma-associated protein 2, and type 1 diabetes. Seventy percent of the families reported following a strict diet plan.

During the first 3 years, weight and height were similar in children in the control and late-exposure groups, as was the probability of developing to TGCA (14 vs. 4%; P = 0.1). Eleven children in the control group and 13 children in the late-exposure group developed islet autoantibodies (3-year risk: 12 vs. 13%; P = 0.6). Seven children developed diabetes, including four in the late-exposure group. No significant differences were observed when children were analyzed as per protocol on the basis of the reported first gluten exposure of the children.