Gut bacteria in babies may predict type 1 diabetes in later life, study finds

Researchers identify microbe signature' found to be in infants who went on to develop disease in childhood or adolescence

Bacteria in the gut of one-year-old infants could be used to predict their chances of developing type 1 diabetes in later life, scientists have announced. The disease most often occurs in children and adolescents and is triggered by the body's immune system when it attacks and destroys insulin-making cells in the pancreas.

Our findings indicate that the gut of infants who go on to develop type 1 diabetes is notably different from healthy babies, and that several microbial biomarkers associated with future disease may be present as early as one year," said the co-lead author of the study, Dr Malin Belteky of the Crown Princess Victoria's Children's Hospital, Linkoping, Sweden.