# Natural History of Pre-Diabetic Autoimmunity (DAISY)

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2024 · $615,317

## Abstract

Abstract
The incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) continues to increase; however, the specific cause remains
elusive. Our preliminary results indicate that the incidence of islet autoimmunity (IA) doubled in Colorado children
born in 2004-2010, compared to those born in 1993-1998. Our overarching goal is to identify environmental
triggers and/or protective factors responsible for the increased risk. Specifically, we will evaluate whether
increasing early childhood overweight, decreased exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, delayed
introduction of gluten in the infant diet or decreased number of polio vaccine doses in the initial 6 months of life
could play a role. We will collaborate with outstanding virology laboratories to further elucidate the role of
enteroviral infections in triggering IA. In a nested case-control study we will test serum samples collected at 9,
15, 24 months of life, and annually thereafter, using the VirScan assay, which detects antibodies to thousands
of epitopes of human viruses and will test white blood cells from the same subjects and time-points for the
presence of enteroviruses. We will test the hypotheses that enteroviral infections with higher viral antibody
response breadths and persistent presence of enterovirus in white blood cells are associated with IA and T1D.
Finally, we will ascertain the incidence of IA in genetically at-risk youth until age 20 y as well as explore the
evolution of dysglycemia and the rate of progression to T1D in youth persistently positive for islet autoantibodies,
up to 30 y of age. In the latter, we will monitor the evolution of dysglycemia and progression to T1D using
continuous glucose monitoring. The proposed studies will help to find the environmental causes of T1D as well
as inform screening for pre-symptomatic T1D and prevention trials in children and adolescents.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10831963
- **Project number:** 5R01DK032493-40
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** MARIAN J REWERS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $615,317
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1994-11-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10831963

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10831963, Natural History of Pre-Diabetic Autoimmunity (DAISY) (5R01DK032493-40). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10831963. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*