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Children born by Caesarean more likely to develop diabetes

26/08/2008

New research has found that babies born by Caesarean section are 20 per cent more likely to develop Type 1 diabetes during childhood compared to those born by natural birth.

A report published by Diabetes UK today found that 24 per cent of pregnancies in England are delivered by Caesarean section, considerably higher than the World Health Organisation's recommended rate of 15 per cent.

Dr Iain Frame, Diabetes UK director of research, said: "Not all women have the choice of whether to have a Caesarean section or not, but those who do may wish to take this risk into consideration before choosing to give birth this way.

"We already know that genetics and childhood infections play a vital role in the development of Type 1 diabetes in children, but the findings of this study indicate that the way a baby is delivered could affect how likely it is to develop this condition later in life."

Lead author of today's report, Dr Chris Cardwell from Queen’s University Belfast, said: "This study shows a consistent 20 per cent increase in the risk of Type 1 diabetes.

"It is important to stress that the reason for this is still not understood although it is possible that the Caesarean section itself is responsible, perhaps because babies born via that method are first exposed to bacteria originating from the hospital environment rather than to maternal bacteria.

"Type 1 diabetes in childhood has become much more prevalent across Europe recently and the rate of this increase suggests that environmental factors are the cause. However, despite much investigation, these actual factors remain largely unknown."

There are 2.3 million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes, of which 250,000 have Type 1 diabetes.