Breastfeeding, Nutrition, Parental Smoking And Type 1 Diabetes: A Case-Control Study At Ege University Children's Hospital

Abstract Background: It has been suggested that may be a link between many environmental factors, including dietary antigens affecting diabetes epidemiology. The main objective of this study is to investigate nutritional risk factors, especially breastfeeding early in life that may be associated with the development of Type 1 DM and to determine the relationship of these factors with the disease.Methods: The research is a case-control study and was carried out in Ege University Children's Hospital. A total of 248 children aged between 4-14 years were included in the study. The case group was reached from patients diagnosed with Type 1 DM, who applied the Ege University Children's Hospital’s; the control group was reached non-diabetic children applying to the same hospital.Results: The mean age was found 10.4±3.3 years for cases and 7.4±2.5 years for controls. It was found that each monthly increase in exclusive breastfeeding duration provided a 0.78 fold decrease in the risk of Type 1 DM. Introduction of cereals in the diet at 6th month or earlier was associated with an increased risk of 3.42 fold. Each unit increase in the total number of cigarettes that parents smoked at home had increased the risk of Type 1 DM by 1.15 times. Conclusions: Prolonged exclusive breastfeeding duration was found to be a protective factor for Type I DM, while introducing cereals before the 6th month and parental smoking were found an important risk factor, which might be another subject for further studies.