ENDIA

Australia's largest study into the cause of type 1 diabetes. Recruitment to the study is now complete. Find out more at www.endia.org.au and Harry B.

Recruitment to the ENDIA Study has closed. The ENDIA (Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity) study is looking into what contributes to the development of Type 1 Diabetes in early childhood. Type 1 Diabetes in children is twice as common as it was 20 years ago. This is because our environment has changed and at-risk children are more likely to develop Type 1 Diabetes. If we can understand exactly what in the environment is harmful or protective, we can develop strategies to prevent Type 1 Diabetes. We believe that children are exposed to these environmental triggers very early in life, perhaps even before they are born. Accordingly, the ENDIA study has recruited 1511 participants across Australia from the pregnancy or up to 6 months of age that have a first-degree relative (i.e. baby's Mum, Dad or older sibling) with Type 1 Diabetes. ENDIA is an observational investigation and does not involve any study medications or treatments. Further information is available on the ENDIA website at www.endia.org.au. This research has been supported by JDRF Australia, JDRF-I, Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative in Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes and the Leona M. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Please note, comments and opinions made by others are not necessarily endorsed by the ENDIA Study Team. All content posted by the ENDIA Team has had ethical approval for public view. Thanks for your interest in finding the causes of Type 1 Diabetes!

19/11/2025

As Thin Lizzy sang “The boys are back in town.” 🎸 But brothers, Lawrence and Gregory aren’t visiting Adelaide to rock and roll, they're here for science! 🔬

These two legends are participating in the ENDIA ultrasound study of the pancreas, and our research team couldn't be more excited. From pancreatic imaging, continuous glucose monitoring ( ) to sibling bonding, it's all happening right here.

📍 Location: Women's and Children's Health Network
🎯 Mission: Advance our understanding of pancreatic size and function in the context of development
🤝 Team: Two brothers (and mum, Gracie) with one important cause ?
Here's to family, science, and making a difference! 💙

16/11/2025

Congratulations to Drs Megan Penno and Mia Majstorovic for their featured presentations at this year’s Robinson Research Institute symposium.

Megan was invited to present around ENDIA’s ongoing quest to engage and involve consumers in the ENDIA Study and future research resulting from the ENDIA cohort data and samples. As well as her account of the amazing journey from 2012 when ENDIA began to some 13 years later, her montage of photos from ENDIA families contributing to ENDIA was a visual highlight.

And speaking of ENDIA’s quest to find , post-doctoral researcher, Mia, won the best Early Career Researcher presentation about the findings from health professionals interviewed for the QuEST Study (Qualitative Experiences of Screening and monitoring for Type 1 diabetes). Well done Mia!

Mia is still seeking more participants. If your child is aged 9 to 18 years old and one or more have been detected through screening and monitoring for (even if gone away), consider participating in a short online interview with Mia for the QuEST Study.

For more information or to register for a no obligation chat, go to https://adelaideuniwide.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ai1gunhvweaEHjg or email Mia directly at Mia.majstorovic@adelaide.edu.au.

Robinson Research Institute

13/11/2025

💙 World Diabetes Day 2024: Diabetes at Work

This World Diabetes Day (14th November), we recognize the incredible work happening both in workplaces AND in research to understand and prevent type 1 diabetes.

To all our ENDIA families: YOU are the workforce behind prevention research. 🙏

Your dedication - attending appointments, completing questionnaires, collecting samples - is the vital "work" that makes breakthrough research possible. You're not just participants; you're partners in the mission to prevent for future generations.

The ENDIA Study's important work includes:
- Following 1,500 Australian children from pregnancy to age 10
- Investigating environmental triggers that may contribute to
- Examining factors like microbiome, nutrition, immune function, and viral infections
- Building the evidence base for primary prevention strategies

To parents managing while raising families and participating in ENDIA: We see the invisible work you do every day - the blood glucose checks, the carb counting, the midnight monitoring - all while contributing to this groundbreaking research.

To researchers, nurses, and lab teams across Australia (and overseas!): Thank you for the meticulous work of processing hundreds of thousands of precious samples and data points.

💬 This World Diabetes Day, we honor the work it takes to:
- Live, work and parent with type 1 diabetes
- Support loved ones with
- Participate in our longitudinal research
- Advance prevention science

Together, we're working toward a future where becomes . 💙

💙

10/11/2025

🚰 Arsenic in drinking water isn’t just an issue in faraway places — it’s a naturally occurring element that can seep into groundwater from rocks and soil, and sometimes from industrial or agricultural pollution.

A new Danish cohort study found that prenatal exposure to arsenic in drinking water increased children’s risk of developing — even at levels below national & WHO (World Health Organisation) safety guidelines.

⚠️ Babies born with above average birth weight were especially vulnerable.

This highlights arsenic as a modifiable environmental risk factor for , and shows why clean water standards matter for lifelong health.

Remember: Type 1 diabetes has multiple causes, and most children exposed to these low levels do NOT develop the condition. However, this research helps us understand ONE potential risk factor we might be able to address with good water quality controls.

Read more online at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109795

07/11/2025

Farewell to Finnley, also affectionately referred to as Finn, as he has completed his final ENDIA visit. His mum, Jess, shared:

“Finnley feels both sad that his time in the study has come to an end, and immensely grateful for the connections he has made with our wonderful nurses over the years, especially Jacki, Jess, and Rose.”

To commemorate Finn’s significant ENDIA milestones and help raise the profile of ENDIA, Finn’s mum and dad had professional photographs taken by the same wonderful photographer Mel Hill Photography. You can find more of these on our website: https://www.endia.org.au/about-endia/ and https://www.endia.org.au/endia-kids/ where Finnley appears with his little sister, Addison.

Addison is only 6, so hopefully we will continue to see the fabulous Finn and his family for a few more years yet.

ENDIA recommends continued monitoring through Type1Screen (www.type1screen.org). Although the risk of developing reduces with age, it doesn’t completely go away.

29/10/2025

🍼💙 New Research Offers Reassurance for Breastfeeding Mothers with Type 1 Diabetes

A recent study brings encouraging news for women who live with who choose to :
- Glucose levels around feeding time were found to be linked to changes in some milk components (like glucose, fructose, and leptin). is a hormone produced by fat cells which tells the brain the tummy is full and regulates energy balance, metabolism, and appetite.
- Glucose levels were not associated with the amount baby consumed or key nutrients like proteins or fats.

This means at the time of feeding baby should not necessarily influence the decision to breastfeed.

Experts note that more research is still needed to:
🔬 Understand other important components of (like growth factors, cytokines, and oligosaccharides. are tiny messenger proteins immune cells use to communicate and coordinate the body's response to infections, injuries, and inflammation. are short chains of sugar molecules serving various functions in the body, like digestion, supporting good gut bacteria, and cell recognition and communication.)
👶 Explore how these factors might support
🕰️ Look at longer-term health outcomes for both mums and their

Whether women breastfeed, formula feed, or do a mix of both, there’s no one “right” way. Every family is different, and this study supports giving women more information, not more pressure. 💙

Read more online at: https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-0096

26/10/2025

For Sebastian’s final ENDIA Study visit, nurse Helen, Mum and Dad, set up a home visit for him! Ten years of contributing to research is an occasion worth marking!

Well done, and thank you, Sebastian. You’re a hero in our eyes.

ENDIA recommends continued screening through Type1Screen because although the risk of developing the early markers of reduces over time, it doesn't completely go away. For more information or to register, go to www.type1screen.org

23/10/2025

🧸📊 What can CGM tell us about the early stages of type 1 diabetes in young children?
In the ENDIA Study, 36 children (median age 4.5 years) with multiple (early markers indicating development) were followed with blinded every 3–6 months.

🔍 What did we find?
• CGM was feasible and well-tolerated, even in very young
• There was high in glucose patterns within each child over time
• More than half of CGM readings that showed elevated glucose ( >140 mg/dL for >10% of the time) were flagged again at the next visit

💡 Why it matters:
These findings show CGM can be a helpful early tool in tracking glycaemic changes before clinical diabetes. However, we still need to learn how best to interpret these patterns in very young children.

Further research is needed to determine whether variability in CGM metrics reflects true changes in early-stage type 1 diabetes progression or individual factors like diet. The usefulness of CGM for staging and guiding treatment decisionsremains uncertain.

Read more at: https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-0821

20/10/2025

🧠💙 Can being kinder to yourself improve diabetes outcomes?

A new study says yes—at least when it comes to blood glucose levels!

Young people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who took part in a brief online self-compassion program saw a significant drop in their (a key marker of longer term glucose management). 🙌

📌 The program didn’t reduce diabetes distress, but participants still walked away with better glycemic outcomes—proving that self-kindness isn't just feel-good fluff. It may actually support better health. 💪🩸

17/10/2025

A research group asked the question: “Could a gluten-free diet help preserve insulin-producing beta cells in people at risk of type 1 diabetes?” In short, the answer was no.

A recent randomized clinical trial ( ) conducted in Finland and Sweden involved and teens with multiple (early markers of ). One group followed a gluten-free diet (GFD) for 17 months, while the other ate an unrestricted diet.

🔍 What they found:
There were no significant differences between the two groups in how well their bodies handled glucose or preserved β-cell (cells in the pancreas that make insulin) function over 18 months.

✅ The gluten-free diet was safe and well tolerated.
❌ But it didn’t delay diabetes progression.
👉 This study adds valuable evidence to help families and clinicians make informed choices about diet and nutrition in early-stage T1D.

Read more online at: https://doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvaf073

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http://www.endia.org.au/

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