Caesarean may cause diabetes
August 26, 2008
According to a study, babies born by Caesarean have a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes in childhood. However, the link to the disease known as the ‘silent killer’ is not clear; scientists believe exposure to hospital bacteria may be involved. Type 1 diabetes is believed to be caused by childhood infections, along with a possible genetic link. With both playing an important role in the development of the disease, combining the two is one theory for the increased risk.
Lead researcher, Dr Chris Cardwell from Queen’s University in Belfast, reported in the journal Diabetologia:
“This study shows a 20 per cent increase in the risk type of type1 diabetes. The reasons for this is still not understood, although it is possible that the Caesarean.”
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disorder in which the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It usually occurs in childhood and continuous lifelong insulin injections are required to manage the disease.
Dr Roger Unger, the professor of internal medicine and senior author of the study, has said,
“Terminally ill rodents with type1 diabetes were restored to full health by injecting them with hormone. These animals were actually dying. But if we gave them the leptin gene, within two weeks, the terminally ill rodents were restored to full health without any treatment.”
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