How does screening for risk of type 1 diabetes work?

Screening has two steps:

1. Genetic Risk Score (GRS) Screening

A sample from your child is tested to check their genetic risk of type 1 diabetes. If they are in the top 10% of risk, they will be invited for the next step. However, being at an increased genetic risk does NOT mean your child will develop type 1 diabetes. Among children with an increased genetic risk result in this study, we expect that about 97% will not be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

2. Autoantibody (Ab) Testing

This is a blood test starting at 12 months of age. It checks for autoantibodies. Autoantibodies are immune markers of type 1 diabetes (signs of the risk of developing T1D) that can appear years before symptoms.