Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations at Birth in Children Screened for HLA-DQB1 Conferred Risk for Type 1 Diabetes

Vitamin D has several effects on the immune system that might be of relevance for the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D).To evaluate whether umbilical cord serum concentrations of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25[OH]D) differ in children developing either islet autoimmunity (IA) or overt T1D during childhood and adolescence.Umbilical cord serum samples from 764 children born from 1994 to 2004 with HLA-DQB1 conferred risk for T1D participating in the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study were analyzed for 25(OH)D using an enzyme immunoassay.DIPP clinics in Turku, Oulu, and Tampere University Hospitals, Finland.Two hundred fifty children who developed T1D diabetes at a median age of 6.7 years (interquartile range [IQR] 4.0 to 10.1 years) and 132 additional case children who developed IA, i.e., positivity for multiple islet autoantibodies. Cases were matched for date of birth, gender, and area of birth with 382 control children who remained autoantibody negative. The median duration of follow up was 9.8 years (IQR 5.7 to 13.1 years).The median 25(OH)D concentrations.The median 25(OH)D concentration in cord serum was low [31.1 nmol/L (IQR 24.0 to 41.8); 88%