Obesity, increased linear growth, and risk of type 1 diabetes in children

OBJECTIVE - The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of obesity and linear growth on the risk of developing type 1 diabetes in chil dren. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - The study population consists of all diabetic children <15 years of age diagnosed from September 1986 to April 1989 in Finland an d their birth date- and sex-matched population-based control subjects. Grow th data were obtained from well-baby clinics and school health care units f or 586 diabetic and 571 control subjects, resulting in a total of 18,823 pa ired weight-height observations. RESULTS - Both boys and girls who developed type 1 diabetes were heavier an d taller throughout childhood than control children. A 10% unit increment i n relative weight was associated with a 50-60% increase in the risk of type 1 diabetes before 3 years of age and a 20-40% increase from 3 to 10 years of age. The increase in risk of type 1 diabetes for 1 SD score increment in relative height was 20-30%. Obesity (relative weight >120%) after 3 years of age was associated with a more than twofold risk of developing type 1 di abetes. CONCLUSIONS - The present observation that obesity and rapid linear growth are risk factors for type 1 diabetes in children indicates that the increas e in the prevalence of obesity and secular growth that has occurred in most industrialized countries over the last decades may be involved in the incr ease in type 1 diabetes incidence simultaneously observed in many countries .