title: Maternal enterovirus infection as a risk factor for type 1 diabetes in the exposed offspring.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Maternal enterovirus infections during pregnancy have been linked to an increased risk of type 1 diabetes in the offspring. The aim of this study was to evaluate this association in a unique series of pregnant mothers whose child progressed to clinical type 1 diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maternal and in utero enterovirus infections were studied in 171 offspring who presented with type 1 diabetes before the age of 11 years and in 316 control subjects matched for date and place of birth, sex, and HLA-DQ risk alleles for diabetes. Acute enterovirus infections were diagnosed by increases in enterovirus IgG and IgM in samples taken from the mother at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy and cord blood samples taken at delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Signs of maternal enterovirus infection were observed in altogether 19.3% of the mothers of affected children and in 12.0% of the mothers of control children (P = 0.038). This difference was seen in different HLA risk groups and in both sexes of the offspring, and it was unrelated to the age of the child at the diagnosis of diabetes or the age of the mother at delivery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that an enterovirus infection during pregnancy is not a major risk factor for type 1 diabetes in childhood but may play a role in some susceptible subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Tampere, School of Medicine, Tampere, Finland. hanna.viskari@uta.fi
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Viskari
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knip
authors.forename: Sisko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tauriainen
authors.forename: Heini
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veijola
authors.forename: Jorma
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ilonen
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Simell
authors.forename: Heljä-Marja
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Surcel
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hyöty
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005838:Genotype; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M