Early life stress and disease among offspring and siblings of individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Major life events, recent life stressors, and childhood diseases were exami ned among children and adolescents who were offspring, siblings, or other r elatives of persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), All youth were recr uited as part of a multi-site nationwide trial on the prevention of type 1 DM; parents of 347 children (4 to 18 yr) completed measures that asked abou t children's life events, recent stressors, and childhood illnesses. Analys es compared age groups (young child, preadolescent, adolescent) and relativ e type (offspring, sibling, other relative), Findings revealed offspring an d siblings did not differ from "other relatives" in terms of life events, r ecent life stress, and disease/illness variables. However, siblings were re ported to have fewer major life events and fewer life stressors in the past 12 months than offspring; siblings also had fewer infectious diseases duri ng the first two years of life compared to offspring. Few age-related diffe rences were found, Overall, results suggest that offspring and siblings of persons with type 1 DM are not at a disadvantage in terms of early life str ess or disease in comparison to youth who have other family members with di abetes. However, siblings may have some advantages relative to children who are offspring. The mechanisms underlying these relationships require furth er elucidation and study.