Białystok Medical University: Screening tests for type 1 diabetes – how do they help slow down the progression of the disease in children?

Contents

One of the first large-scale screening studies for type 1 diabetes in children has begun in Poland. The results leave no doubt – the risk of developing the disease in the general population is higher than previously thought. "Screening tests can detect type 1 diabetes even before clinical symptoms appear," says Prof. Artur Bossowski from the Medical University of Białystok.

Experts emphasize that such diagnostics can help avoid serious complications and should become standard across the country.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that most often manifests in childhood. However, its progression can be slowed if the presence of antibodies indicative of ongoing autoimmune processes is detected early enough. This was the goal of the team from the Medical University of Białystok, which conducted one of the largest pediatric screening studies in Poland.

As Prof. Artur Bossowski, head of the Clinic of Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Diabetology with Cardiology Departments at the Medical University of Bialystok, explains, research activities began in 2019. Initially, the focus was on children from families with a history of type 1 diabetes.

It turned out that the risk of disease in such children is 15 times higher than in the general population, where it is 0.4%, says Professor Bossowski.

Actual screening of children from the general population of northeastern Poland began in April 2023. To date, over 5,500 children aged 1 to 9 have been examined. Detailed results were published in the prestigious scientific journal "Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 2025." It turned out that as many as 1.12% of the children tested had two or more antibodies, meaning they were highly likely (75-80%) to develop type 1 diabetes within a decade.

Prof. Bossowski points out that the clinic had previously observed that most patients were admitted to hospital only in a state of ketoacidosis – a serious complication resulting from undiagnosed diabetes.

80–90% of these children had no family history of type 1 diabetes, he notes. It was these observations that motivated the team to begin screening the entire population.

The testing process itself was simple – a 2.7 ml blood sample was sufficient. As Professor Bossowski explains, the presence of three types of antibodies was analyzed. Positive results were found in 7.1% of the children, with as many as 300 of them having two or more antibodies. This means they are at high risk of developing the disease.

We detected four antibodies in six children, which indicates a very high probability of developing type 1 diabetes in the coming years, emphasizes Professor Bossowski.

The Białystok team is calling for type 1 diabetes screening to become common practice in Poland. As the results show, the risk of developing the disease in the general pediatric population is significant. Early diagnosis not only allows parents and doctors to better prepare for the disease but also allows for the implementation of strategies to delay its onset and mitigate its severity.

Based on these results, we believe that population-wide screening is absolutely essential," concludes Professor Bossowski.