�New research� reveals that mothers giving birth by Caesarean section have a 20 per cent higher risk of their sister developing Type 1 diabetes in childhood compared to those having natural births, warns star health charity Diabetes UK.
The research examined 20 published studies on children with Type 1 diabetes born by Caesarean segment and establish that in that location was a 20 per cent increase in the risk of babies innate by Caesarean section developing Type 1 diabetes. This could not be explained by other factors such as birth weight, the age of the mother, order of birth, gestational diabetes and whether the baby was breast-fed or not.
On average 24 per cent of pregnancies in England are delivered by Caesarean section, which is importantly higher that the World Health Organisation's recommended rate of 15 per centime.�
Dr Iain Frame, Diabetes UK Director of Research, said: "Not all women have the choice of whether to feature a Caesarean section or not, but those world Health Organization do may wish to take this risk into consideration before choosing to give birthing this way.
"We already know that genetics and childhood infections play a vital role in the development of Type 1 diabetes in children, only the findings of this study indicate that the way a baby is delivered could affect how likely it is to develop this condition subsequently in life. Diabetes UK would receive more research in this area."
Dr Chris Cardwell from Queen's University Belfast led the research. He said: "This study shows a ordered 20 per cent increment 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 for, perhaps because babies born via that method ar first open to bacterium originating from the hospital environment instead than to maternal bacterium.
"Type 1 diabetes in childhood has become much more predominant across Europe recently and the rate of this increase suggests that environmental factors ar the reason. However, contempt much investigation, these existent factors continue largely unsung."
Diabetes is a serious condition that, if non managed, can lead to fatal complications including heart disease, virgule, kidney failure and amputations. There are 2.3 million masses in the UK diagnosed with diabetes and 250,000 with Type 1 diabetes.
For more information visit hypertext transfer protocol://www.diabetes.org.uk
1 'Caesarean section is associated with an increased risk of childhood-onset Type 1 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of observational studies' by Cardwell CR, Stene LC, Joner G, Cinek O, Svensson J, Goldacre MJ, Parslow RC, Pozzilli P, Brigis G, Stoyanov D, Urbonait� B, Sipeti� S, Schober E, Ionescu-Tirgoviste C, Devoti G, de Beaufort CE, Buschard K, Patterson CC at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen's University Belfast.
2 'Towards better births: A reassessment of motherhood services in England' July 2008 Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection.
3 Diabetes UK is the charity for people with diabetes. We fund more than �7 million of medical inquiry every year, provide entropy and support to people with diabetes and hunting expedition on their behalf. For more information visit hTTP://www.diabetes.org.uk.
4 In the UK, there are currently 2.3 million people diagnosed with diabetes and it is estimated that more than half a billion people stimulate the condition but do not know it.
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