Screening of Islet Autoantibodies for Children in the General Population: A Position Statement Endorsed by the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the most frequent chronic autoimmune disease in childhood and adolescence, its incidence is increasing particularly in toddlers and preschool children, and up to 60% of young patients present with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a severe and life-threatening complication. So far, the majority of screening efforts have been performed in the at-risk group, i.e., relatives of people with T1D; anyhow, around 90% of young patients who eventually develop T1D do not have a family history. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> Some studies in Europe and the USA have clearly shown that a public health screening of children (with positive autoantibodies) is effective in reducing the prevalence of DKA by more than 10 times, decreasing the rate of hospitalization and its costs, providing psychological, emotional, and social support to children and their families. In addition, several treatments and trials are available for children with stage 2 and stage 3 T1D. There is still room for improvement of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value in a population screening program; anyhow, there is vivid debate on the opportunity for a screening program in the general population of children at risk for developing T1D. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> This paper, endorsed by the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), discusses the issues of a screening program in the general population with the hope that uncertainties and difficulties in this field will be overcome by better screening methods, improved cost-effectiveness, reliable treatments for secondary prevention, and relevant delay in clinically evident T1D in children and adolescents.