Type 1 diabetes screening in UK children shown feasible by study

A UK study using a finger-prick blood test found early-stage markers of type 1 diabetes in more than 200 children out of 17,283 tested. The programme will expand in a second phase to ages 2–17 and support NHS pre-diabetes clinics at multiple sites.

A UK research programme has shown that a simple finger-prick blood test can identify children in the earliest stages of type 1 diabetes. The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune Diabetes (ELSA) study tested children aged three to 13 and published initial results in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Researchers and charities say the findings support the feasibility of screening and have prompted plans for NHS pre-diabetes clinics for children. The work is being expanded to a larger age range in a follow-up study. Key findings: - 17,283 finger-prick tests were analysed and more than 200 children had one or more autoantibodies indicating risk or early-stage type 1 diabetes. - A small number of children were found to have undiagnosed diabetes and required immediate insulin, while others showed early markers and did not yet need insulin. - ELSA 2 will expand screening to children aged 2–17 and will support NHS pre-diabetes clinics across 20 sites for four years. Summary: The study demonstrates that antibody screening using a finger-prick test can identify children at risk of or in the early stages of type 1 diabetes and has led to plans for dedicated NHS clinics to support those identified. The research will extend to a wider age range in ELSA 2, and wider access to treatments such as teplizumab would be subject to NHS review and regulatory decisions.