Study Links Diabetes to Enterovirus

People with diabetes are almost 10 times more likely to have a cold-like enterovirus infection, according to a study by Australian researchers.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales and the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, based in Sydney, reviewed data from nearly 4,500 patients, concluding that there was a strong association between enterovirus infection and type 1 diabetes.

The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes has increased over the past 25 years at an annual rate of 3%, without explanation.

It has therefore been suggested that environmental factors such as drugs, toxins, nutrients, and viruses can play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.

But, the study, published by the British Medical Journal did not prove that the virus causes diabetes.