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Retinol, Carotenoid, and Tocopherol Intake and Status, and the Risk of Islet Autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes : The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young Study

Hakola, Leena ; Clasen, Joanna L ; Uusitalo, Ulla ; Andrén Aronsson, Carin LU orcid ; Hummel, Sandra ; Mattila, Markus ; Niinistö, Sari ; Toppari, Jorma ; Ziegler, Anette-G and Hagopian, William A , et al. (2026) In Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews 42(5). p.1-9
Abstract

AIMS: To study the associations of dietary intake of A and E vitamins, as well as plasma retinols, carotenoids, and tocopherols in relation to development of islet autoimmunity and progression to T1D.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study followed 7659 newborns with genetic susceptibility to T1D for 6 years in the USA, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. Dietary vitamin intake was assessed repeatedly with 3-day food-records in full cohort at ages 6 months to 6 years. Plasma retinols, carotenoids, and tocopherols were analysed in a nested case-control setting with 359 children with islet autoimmunity and 1033 matched controls.

RESULTS: In the full cohort analyses, dietary... (More)

AIMS: To study the associations of dietary intake of A and E vitamins, as well as plasma retinols, carotenoids, and tocopherols in relation to development of islet autoimmunity and progression to T1D.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study followed 7659 newborns with genetic susceptibility to T1D for 6 years in the USA, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. Dietary vitamin intake was assessed repeatedly with 3-day food-records in full cohort at ages 6 months to 6 years. Plasma retinols, carotenoids, and tocopherols were analysed in a nested case-control setting with 359 children with islet autoimmunity and 1033 matched controls.

RESULTS: In the full cohort analyses, dietary intake of retinol, β-carotene, and vitamin E was not associated with the risk of islet autoimmunity or progression to T1D. Further, none of the plasma retinol, carotenoid, and tocopherol biomarkers were associated with islet autoimmunity or T1D in the full nested case-control analyses. We observed effect modification by country, breastfeeding, sex, and follow-up time for both intake and biomarkers of vitamins on the risk of islet autoimmunity or T1D, and some subgroup associations. Finally, a plasma carotenoid metabolite (likely zeinoxanthin) (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.39, 0.95, p = 0.03) and γ-carotene at 6 months (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.45, 0.94, p = 0.02) were inversely associated with the odds of developing GADA-first.

CONCLUSIONS: Retinol, carotenoids and tocopherols were not consistently associated with islet autoimmunity. This study adds to the understanding of factors and their interactions related to T1D development.

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keywords
Humans, Carotenoids/administration & dosage, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/epidemiology, Vitamin A/administration & dosage, Female, Male, Tocopherols/administration & dosage, Case-Control Studies, Autoimmunity, Islets of Langerhans/immunology, Child, Preschool, Infant, Risk Factors, Child, Follow-Up Studies, Infant, Newborn, Diet
in
Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews
volume
42
issue
5
article number
e70196
pages
1 - 9
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • pmid:42361128
ISSN
1520-7552
DOI
10.1002/dmrr.70196
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© 2026 The Author(s). Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.
id
7ac94986-f0da-4e57-968b-d0a4a8c79815
date added to LUP
2026-06-29 00:01:27
date last changed
2026-06-29 08:56:47
@article{7ac94986-f0da-4e57-968b-d0a4a8c79815,
  abstract     = {{<p>AIMS: To study the associations of dietary intake of A and E vitamins, as well as plasma retinols, carotenoids, and tocopherols in relation to development of islet autoimmunity and progression to T1D.</p><p>MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study followed 7659 newborns with genetic susceptibility to T1D for 6 years in the USA, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. Dietary vitamin intake was assessed repeatedly with 3-day food-records in full cohort at ages 6 months to 6 years. Plasma retinols, carotenoids, and tocopherols were analysed in a nested case-control setting with 359 children with islet autoimmunity and 1033 matched controls.</p><p>RESULTS: In the full cohort analyses, dietary intake of retinol, β-carotene, and vitamin E was not associated with the risk of islet autoimmunity or progression to T1D. Further, none of the plasma retinol, carotenoid, and tocopherol biomarkers were associated with islet autoimmunity or T1D in the full nested case-control analyses. We observed effect modification by country, breastfeeding, sex, and follow-up time for both intake and biomarkers of vitamins on the risk of islet autoimmunity or T1D, and some subgroup associations. Finally, a plasma carotenoid metabolite (likely zeinoxanthin) (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.39, 0.95, p = 0.03) and γ-carotene at 6 months (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.45, 0.94, p = 0.02) were inversely associated with the odds of developing GADA-first.</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: Retinol, carotenoids and tocopherols were not consistently associated with islet autoimmunity. This study adds to the understanding of factors and their interactions related to T1D development.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hakola, Leena and Clasen, Joanna L and Uusitalo, Ulla and Andrén Aronsson, Carin and Hummel, Sandra and Mattila, Markus and Niinistö, Sari and Toppari, Jorma and Ziegler, Anette-G and Hagopian, William A and Akolkar, Beena and Rewers, Marian J and McIndoe, Richard A and Lernmark, Åke and Krischer, Jeffrey P and Norris, Jill M and Erlund, Iris and Virtanen, Suvi M}},
  issn         = {{1520-7552}},
  keywords     = {{Humans; Carotenoids/administration & dosage; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/epidemiology; Vitamin A/administration & dosage; Female; Male; Tocopherols/administration & dosage; Case-Control Studies; Autoimmunity; Islets of Langerhans/immunology; Child, Preschool; Infant; Risk Factors; Child; Follow-Up Studies; Infant, Newborn; Diet}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{1--9}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews}},
  title        = {{Retinol, Carotenoid, and Tocopherol Intake and Status, and the Risk of Islet Autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes : The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young Study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dmrr.70196}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/dmrr.70196}},
  volume       = {{42}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}