Excessive Cleanliness Could Up Risk of Diabetes

Children raised in obsessively clean households could be more likely to develop diabetes, Bristol University scientists have claimed.

Studies on mice discovered that 80 per cent developed severe type one diabetes when living in a bacteria-free environment.

The incidence of diabetes fell dramatically when the researchers gave the mice a cocktail of the bacteria normally found in mammals’ guts.

The results indicate that children growing up in the most hygienic conditions may be at greater risk of developing diabetes.

But Professor Susan Wong, who led the research, advised people not to panic.

“We are not saying that there is or isn’t a problem in humans at the moment. We are saying that we should look at the way the immune system interacts with the environment,” she said.

“The objective now is to identify which friendly bacteria are having this effect, and how they stop the development of type 1 diabetes.”

The study, published in science journal Nature, was partly funded by diabetes groups in the US.

Bristol Diabetes UK representative Malcolm Collier said: “It’s fascinating information and it might well help humans with diabetes. Hopefully it will lead to people with diabetes having a better life, and maybe a cure one day.”

The research did not relate to type two diabetes, which is much more common and is linked to obesity and lifestyle.

(c) 2008 Evening Post (Bristol UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.