Relationships among consanguinity, family history, and the onset of type 1 diabetes in children from Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

AIMS\nWe aimed to demonstrate the relationship between parental consanguinity and positive family histories of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and autoimmune disease and the development of T1DM among children in Saudi Arabia.\n\n\nMETHODS\nThis was a cross-sectional case-control study. In total, 192 patients and 188 healthy controls were enrolled from the Pediatric Diabetes Clinic at King Salman Military Hospital between January 2000 and December 2010. Detailed patients data recorded while distributing questionnaires to control samples included various gradations of consanguinity and family histories of T1DM and autoimmune disease.\n\n\nRESULTS\nParental consanguinity was not significantly associated with T1DM; however, children of first-cousin parents showed a higher risk of developing T1DM than did children of second-cousin parents. The presence of a family history of T1DM significantly differed between those with and without T1DM (p < 0.05). No association was observed between a family history of autoimmune disorders and the development of T1DM.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nParental consanguinity and family history of autoimmunity were not clearly linked to T1DM development in children, indicating that T1DM is a multifactorial disease. A history of affected first-cousin parents increases the risk of T1DM.