Publications by authors named "Akolkar B"

The goal of the TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) study is to elucidate factors leading to the initiation of islet autoimmunity (first primary outcome) and those related to progression to type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM; second primary outcome). This Review outlines the key findings so far, particularly related to the first primary outcome. The background, history and organization of the study are discussed.

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Season of birth, viral infections, HLA haplogenotypes and non-HLA variants are implicated in the development of celiac disease and celiac disease autoimmunity, suggesting a combined role of genes and environmental exposures. The aim of the study was to further decipher the biological pathways conveying the season of birth effect in celiac disease autoimmunity to gain novel insights into the early pathogenesis of celiac disease. Interactions between season of birth, genetics, and early-life environmental factors on the risk of celiac autoimmunity were investigated in the multicenter TEDDY birth cohort study.

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Context: Autoantibodies to thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin (TgAb) define preclinical autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), which can progress to either clinical hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.

Objective: We determined the age at seroconversion in children genetically at risk for type 1 diabetes.

Methods: TPOAb and TgAb seropositivity were determined in 5066 healthy children with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DR3- or DR4-containing haplogenotypes from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study.

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Context: The 2 peaks of type 1 diabetes incidence occur during early childhood and puberty.

Objective: We sought to better understand the relationship between puberty, islet autoimmunity, and type 1 diabetes.

Methods: The relationships between puberty, islet autoimmunity, and progression to type 1 diabetes were investigated prospectively in children followed in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study.

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Aims/hypothesis: Delivery by Caesarean section continues to rise globally and has been associated with the risk of developing type 1 diabetes and the rate of progression from pre-symptomatic stage 1 or 2 type 1 diabetes to symptomatic stage 3 disease. The aim of this study was to examine the association between Caesarean delivery and progression to stage 3 type 1 diabetes in children with pre-symptomatic early-stage type 1 diabetes.

Methods: Caesarean section was examined in 8135 children from the TEDDY study who had an increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes and were followed from birth for the development of islet autoantibodies and type 1 diabetes.

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Purpose: The aim was to study the association between dietary intake of B vitamins in childhood and the risk of islet autoimmunity (IA) and progression to type 1 diabetes (T1D) by the age of 10 years.

Methods: We followed 8500 T1D-susceptible children born in the U.S.

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Article Synopsis
  • Higher gluten intake in childhood is linked to a greater risk of celiac disease autoimmunity (CDA) and celiac disease, but other dietary patterns may also play a role.
  • The study analyzed data from 6,726 genetically susceptible children, examining their diets at age 2 to see how it affects the likelihood of developing CDA and celiac disease as they grew older.
  • Results showed that a diet rich in vegetable fats and milk at 9 months was protective against CDA, whereas a diet high in wheat and vegetable fats at 24 months increased the risk of both CDA and celiac disease.
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Background/objective: Growth and obesity have been associated with increased risk of islet autoimmunity (IA) and progression to type 1 diabetes. We aimed to estimate the effect of energy-yielding macronutrient intake on the development of IA through BMI.

Research Design And Methods: Genetically at-risk children ( = 5,084) in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the USA, who were autoantibody negative at 2 years of age, were followed to the age of 8 years, with anthropometric measurements and 3-day food records collected biannually.

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Objective: To investigate gastrointestinal infection episodes (GIEs) in relation to the appearance of islet autoantibodies in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) cohort.

Research Design And Methods: GIEs on risk of autoantibodies against either insulin (IAA) or GAD (GADA) as the first-appearing autoantibody were assessed in a 10-year follow-up of 7,867 children. Stool virome was characterized in a nested case-control study.

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Objective: To study the interaction among HLA genotype, early probiotic exposure, and timing of complementary foods in relation to risk of islet autoimmunity (IA).

Research Design And Methods: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study prospectively follows 8,676 children with increased genetic risk of type 1 diabetes. We used a Cox proportional hazards regression model adjusting for potential confounders to study early feeding and the risk of IA in a sample of 7,770 children.

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Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from autoimmune destruction of β cells. Insufficient availability of biomarkers represents a significant gap in understanding the disease cause and progression. We conduct blinded, two-phase case-control plasma proteomics on the TEDDY study to identify biomarkers predictive of T1D development.

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The etiology of type 1 diabetes (T1D) foreshadows the pancreatic islet beta-cell autoimmune pathogenesis that heralds the clinical onset of T1D. Standardized and harmonized tests of autoantibodies against insulin (IAA), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA), islet antigen-2 (IA-2A), and ZnT8 transporter (ZnT8A) allowed children to be followed from birth until the appearance of a first islet autoantibody. In the Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, a multicenter (Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the United States) observational study, children were identified at birth for the T1D high-risk HLA haploid genotypes DQ2/DQ8, DQ2/DQ2, DQ8/DQ8, and DQ4/DQ8.

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Objective: This study investigated physical activity and its association with the development of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in genetically at-risk children aged 5-15 years.

Research Design And Methods: As part of the longitudinal Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, annual assessment of activity using accelerometry was conducted from age 5 years. Time-to-event analyses using Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity per day and the appearance of one or several autoantibodies and progression to type 1 diabetes in three risk groups: 1) 3,869 islet autoantibody (IA)-negative children, of whom 157 became single IA positive; 2) 302 single IA-positive children, of whom 73 became multiple IA positive; and 3) 294 multiple IA-positive children, of whom 148 developed type 1 diabetes.

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Associations between human genetic variation and clinical phenotypes have become a foundation of biomedical research. Most repositories of these data seek to be disease-agnostic and therefore lack disease-focused views. The Type 2 Diabetes Knowledge Portal (T2DKP) is a public resource of genetic datasets and genomic annotations dedicated to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related traits.

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Objective: To examine whether iron intake and genetically determined iron overload interact in predisposing to the development of childhood islet autoimmunity (IA) and type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Research Design And Methods: In The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, 7,770 genetically high-risk children were followed from birth until the development of IA and progression to T1D. Exposures included energy-adjusted iron intake in the first 3 years of life and a genetic risk score (GRS) for increased circulating iron.

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Aims/hypothesis: The Islet Autoantibody Standardization Program (IASP) aims to improve the performance of immunoassays measuring autoantibodies in type 1 diabetes and the concordance of results across laboratories. IASP organises international workshops distributing anonymised serum samples to participating laboratories and centralises the collection and analysis of results. In this report, we describe the results of assays measuring IAA submitted to the IASP 2018 and 2020 workshops.

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Background: Celiac disease has an increasing incidence worldwide and is treated with lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. We aimed to describe gluten-free diet adherence rates in children with screening-identified celiac disease, determine adherence-related factors, and compare adherence to food records in a multinational prospective birth cohort study.

Methods: Children in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young study with celiac disease were included.

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Objective: Biomarkers predicting risk of type 1 diabetes (stage 3) among children with islet autoantibodies are greatly needed to prevent diabetic ketoacidosis and facilitate prevention therapies.

Research Design And Methods: Children in the prospective The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study (n = 707) with confirmed diabetes-associated autoantibodies (GAD antibody, IA-2A, and/or insulin autoantibody) and two or more HbA1c measurements were followed to diabetes or median age 11.1 years.

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Objective: To distinguish among predictors of seroconversion, progression to multiple autoantibodies and from multiple autoantibodies to type 1 diabetes in young children.

Research Design And Methods: Genetically high-risk newborns (n = 8,502) were followed for a median of 11.2 years (interquartile range 9.

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Objective: Increased level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is associated with type 1 diabetes onset that in turn is preceded by one to several autoantibodies against the pancreatic islet beta cell autoantigens; insulin (IA), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), islet antigen-2 (IA-2) and zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8). The risk for type 1 diabetes diagnosis increases by autoantibody number. Biomarkers predicting the development of a second or a subsequent autoantibody and type 1 diabetes are needed to predict disease stages and improve secondary prevention trials.

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Fungal infections are a major health problem that often begin in the gastrointestinal tract. Gut microbe interactions in early childhood are critical for proper immune responses, yet there is little known about the development of the fungal population from infancy into childhood. Here, as part of the TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) study, we examine stool samples of 888 children from 3 to 48 months and find considerable differences between fungi and bacteria.

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The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study enrolled 8676 children, 3-4 months of age, born with HLA-susceptibility genotypes for islet autoimmunity (IA) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed in 1119 children in a nested case-control study design. Telomere length was estimated from WGS data using five tools: Computel, Telseq, Telomerecat, qMotif and Motif_counter.

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Article Synopsis
  • The TEDDY study explores age-specific differences in type 1 diabetes among children, focusing on metabolic changes before diagnosis and the occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
  • The study involved 379 children grouped by age at diagnosis, analyzing factors like autoantibody profiles, glucose levels, and symptomatology.
  • Results showed that younger children experienced more symptoms and fewer autoantibodies, while DKA was rare, particularly in those with a family history of diabetes, highlighting the importance of ongoing metabolic monitoring.
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