Why to screen for Autoimmune T1D

SCREENING AND MONITORING PROGRAMMES CAN REDUCE RATES OF DKA BY UP TO APPROXIMATELY 90%, PREVENTING SEVERE COMPLICATIONS AND REDUCING HOSPITALISATION²⁷

Studies show that screening can lower rates of DKA at onset of Stage 3 autoimmune T1D.^34–40

High reductions of DKA rates were observed in the following studies:

DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis; HLA, human leukocyte antigen; T1D, type 1 diabetes; TEDDY, The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young; US, United States.
^*Public health screening that screened 90,632 children for autoimmune T1D islet autoantibodies in Bavaria, Germany, of the 62 children with presymptomatic autoimmune T1D who developed Stage 3 of the condition, 2 (3.2%) were diagnosed in the laboratory with mild or moderate DKA without clinical symptoms, while 60 (96.8%) did not have DKA.^{34 †}The previously reported prevalence of DKA in unscreened children is over 20% in Germany.^34
‡A study that screened 424,788 children for autoimmune T1D HLA risk at birth and enrolled 8,677 children between 2004 and 2010. Of those children aged <5 years at autoimmune T1D diagnosis, 9 of 79 (11%) experienced DKA at diagnosis.³⁵

ENABLE A SMOOTHER TRANSITION INTO LIFE WITH AUTOIMMUNE T1D^{7,8,27,28,47,48}

An abrupt Stage 3 autoimmune T1D diagnosis can feel like a crash-landing for individuals and their families.^49,50

DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis; T1D, type 1 diabetes.
^*Diabetes distress refers to the emotional burden and stress resulting from the ongoing demands of managing diabetes daily.^{51 †}Qualitative studies reveal that while maternal anxiety levels initially spike after learning of their child’s high-risk status, this anxiety typically subsides to normal levels within 4–12 months.⁴⁸