Serum alpha- and gamma-tocopherol concentrations and risk of advanced beta cell autoimmunity in children with HLA-conferred susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to assess the associations of serum alpha- and gamma-tocopherol concentrations with the risk of advanced beta cell autoimmunity in children with HLA-conferred genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
A case-control study with 108 cases with advanced beta cell autoimmunity and 216 matched control participants nested within the birth cohort of the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Project. A serum sample for vitamin E analyses was collected from all the children in the cohort at the age of 1 year and thereafter at 12 month intervals. For each case-control group, all the repeated serum samples up to the age of seroconversion to autoantibody positivity in the case were analysed. A conditional logistic regression model was used to determine potential associations between seroconversion and serum tocopherol concentrations.


RESULTS
Serum alpha- or gamma-tocopherol concentrations were not significantly associated with the risk of advanced beta cell autoimmunity. The odds ratio (95% CI) for micromol/l increase in serum concentration of the first-year sample was 0.97 (0.92-1.03) for alpha-tocopherol and 1.10 (0.70-1.74) for gamma-tocopherol. However, there was an interaction between high values of gamma-tocopherol at the age of 1 year and the time of seroconversion (p = 0.024).


CONCLUSIONS
It seems unlikely that high concentrations of alpha- or gamma-tocopherol protect against advanced beta cell autoimmunity in young children.
Uusitalo
L
L
Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. liisa.uusitalo@uta.fi
Nevalainen
J
J
Niinistö
S
S
Alfthan
G
G
Sundvall
J
J
Korhonen
T
T
Kenward
M G
MG
Oja
H
H
Veijola
R
R
Simell
O
O
Ilonen
J
J
Knip
M
M
Virtanen
S M
SM
D000328:Adult; D015551:Autoimmunity; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000276:immunology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007330:Insulin Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009035:Mothers; D012307:Risk Factors; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*; D024504:gamma-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*
D006680:HLA Antigens; D007330:Insulin Antibodies; D024504:gamma-Tocopherol; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol