Family History of Diabetes and Clinical Characteristics in Children at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes-A Swedish Population-Based Study.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of parental diabetes between children with and without type 1 diabetes (T1D), and to compare clinical characteristics at diagnosis of T1D in children with, versus without, a family history of diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Parental diabetes among children with T1D was compared with a general population cohort. Clinical characteristics were compared by family history of diabetes in parents and grandparents of 3,603 children with T1D using relative risk (RR) and ANOVA.

Results: Children with T1D more often had parents with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (RR 1.88; P < 0.001) than did children without diabetes. Children with T1D and a family history of T2D were more likely to be overweight or obese (P = 0.002).

Conclusions: A family history of T2D and being overweight may contribute to increased risk of T1D.