Dietary factors such as cow’s milk, gluten and fruit can influence type 1 diabetes risk according to a systematic review and meta analysis presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting. The study highlights the influence of diet on the development of type 1 diabetes. Researchers analyzed the data retrieved from a literature search of Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases for case-control, cohort or randomized controlled studies with islet autoimmunity or type 1 diabetes as an outcome.

152 eligible studies were included in the review with estimated risk ratio (RRs) calculated for 27 dietary components. The observations from the review were infants introduced to cow’s milk at age 2 to 3 months or later had a lower risk for type 1 diabetes compared with those introduced earlier, infants who consumed gluten at age 3 to 6 months had a lower type 1 diabetes risk than those introduced earlier, introduction to fruits at age 4 to 6 months was associated with a lower type 1 diabetes risk compared with eating fruit before age 4 to 5, and infants who take two to three portions of cow’s milk products per day had an increased risk for islet autoimmunity compared with those taking fewer than two portions daily. Breastfeeding for 6 to 12 months or longer was associated with a lower type 1 diabetes risk than those who breastfed for less than 6 months. The study also found that infants who exclusively breastfed for at least 2 to 3 months had a lower risk for type 1 diabetes than those who exclusively breastfed for less than 2 months.

According to Lampousi, the lead researcher, “Future studies should preferably have prospective design, consider the assessment of nutritional biomarkers, and carefully adjust for potential confounders”.