Experimental Diabetes Research 
Volume 2008 (2008), Article ID 271958, 6 pages
doi:10.1155/2008/271958
Research Article

Maternal Enterovirus Infection during Pregnancy as a Risk Factor in Offspring Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes between 15 and 30 Years of Age

Maria Elfving,1 Johan Svensson,2 Sami Oikarinen,3 Björn Jonsson,4 Per Olofsson,5 Göran Sundkvist,6 Bengt Lindberg,2 Åke Lernmark,6,7 Heikki Hyöty,3 and Sten-Anders Ivarsson2

 1Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatric Unit, Lund University Hospital, Lund University, 221 85 Lund, Sweden
2Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatric Unit, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden
3Department of Virology, Tampere University Hospital, University of Tampere, 33521 Tampere, Finland
4Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, 751 05 Uppsala, Sweden
5Department of Clinical Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden
6Department of Clinical Sciences, Diabetes and Celiac Disease Unit, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden
7Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Received 10 December 2007; Revised 29 April 2008; Accepted 12 June 2008

Recommended by Rodica Pop-Busui

Abstract

Maternal enterovirus infections during pregnancy may increase the risk of offspring developing type 1 diabetes during childhood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether gestational enterovirus infections increase the offspring's risk of type 1 diabetes later in life. Serum samples from 30 mothers without diabetes whose offspring developed type 1 diabetes between 15 and 25 years of age were analyzed for enterovirus-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies and enterovirus genome (RNA), and compared to a control group. Among the index mothers, 9/30 (30%) were enterovirus IgM-positive, and none was positive for enterovirus RNA. In the control group, 14/90 (16%) were enterovirus IgM-positive, and 4/90 (4%) were positive for enterovirus RNA (n.s.). Boys of enterovirus IgM-positive mothers had approximately 5 times greater risk of developing diabetes (OR 4.63; 95% CI 1.22–17.6), as compared to boys of IgM-negative mothers (P<.025). These results suggest that gestational enterovirus infections may be related to the risk of offspring developing type 1 diabetes in adolescence and young adulthood.