The message comes from researchers in Finland who have compiled existing research from several countries in the area. The connection is particularly evident among children between 0 and 2 years old.
Children's immune system develops a lot during the first years, and we know that preschool is a place where you are exposed to various infectious agents, says Helena Elding Larsson, pediatrician at Skåne University Hospital and professor of autoimmune diseases at Lund University.
Trains the immune system
In total, the researchers have analyzed data from previous studies with a total of approximately one million children, of whom 3,700 had type 1 diabetes and compared those who attended preschool with those who did not.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own cells and leads to the person who is affected not being able to produce the vital insulin themselves.
The causes are not fully clarified and can be several. But one theory that has support in research is that the immune system has not been properly trained when children are small. Children in preschool get more infections than those who are at home.
It may be that the tolerance that the immune system develops when you get different infections actually protects against autoimmune diseases, by allowing the child to better handle the viruses that may trigger them, says Helena Elding Larsson, who has read the study but was not involved in it.
Children need to be infected
The researchers behind the study, which is published in the journal Jama Pediatrics, point out that there may be other factors that distinguish children in preschool from others and that may have a protective effect. It could, for example, be physical activity and a balanced and regular diet that also reduce the risk.
Helena Elding Larsson says that infections in the first years are good for several reasons.
It can be tough for parents when you experience that children are sick all the time. But it's good for the immune system to be trained and developed so that we can handle infections later, she says.
In the study, the researchers have not taken into account whether the children have type 1 diabetes in the family. This is highlighted as a weakness in the study, as it is known that there is a hereditary component.
In type 1 diabetes, the body's own immune system has attacked the cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin and destroyed them so that they can no longer produce insulin. The body's cells cannot take up blood sugar without insulin. Then the blood sugar stays in the blood and the blood sugar level increases.
The cells instead burn body fat when they don't get any energy from blood sugar. A type of acid called ketones is formed if the cells burn a lot of fat. Too many ketones can harm the body.
Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin for life.
Type 1 diabetes usually develops when you are a child or teenager, but adults can also get the disease.
Source: 1177
