Research Article

Relationship between the incidence of type 1 diabetes and enterovirus infections in different European populations: Results from the EPIVIR project

  1. Hanna Viskari1,2,*,
  2. Johnny Ludvigsson3,
  3. Raivo Uibo4,
  4. Lina Salur4,
  5. Dalia Marciulionyte5,
  6. Robert Hermann6,
  7. Gyula Soltesz6,
  8. Martin Füchtenbusch7,
  9. Anette-G. Ziegler7,
  10. Anita Kondrashova1,2,8,
  11. Anatolij Romanov8,
  12. Mikael Knip1,9,10,
  13. Heikki Hyöty1,2,11

Article first published online: 13 FEB 2004

DOI: 10.1002/jmv.20033

Issue

Journal of Medical Virology

Journal of Medical Virology

Volume 72, Issue 4, pages 610–617, April 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

Viskari, H., Ludvigsson, J., Uibo, R., Salur, L., Marciulionyte, D., Hermann, R., Soltesz, G., Füchtenbusch, M., Ziegler, A.-G., Kondrashova, A., Romanov, A., Knip, M. and Hyöty, H. (2004), Relationship between the incidence of type 1 diabetes and enterovirus infections in different European populations: Results from the EPIVIR project. Journal of Medical Virology, 72: 610–617. doi: 10.1002/jmv.20033

Author Information

  1. 1

    JDRF Center for Prevention of Type 1 Diabetes, Finland

  2. 2

    Department of Virology, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

  3. 3

    Department of Pediatrics, University of Linköping, Linköping, Sweden

  4. 4

    Department of Immunology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

  5. 5

    Institute of Endocrinology, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

  6. 6

    Department of Pediatrics, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

  7. 7

    Diabetes Research Institute, Münich, Germany

  8. 8

    Department of Pediatrics, University of Petrozavodsk, Russia

  9. 9

    Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

  10. 10

    Department of Pediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

  11. 11

    Department of Clinical Microbiology, Center for Laboratory Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

*Virology, Medical School, FM3/5th Floor, University of Lenkkeilijänkatu 10, 33520 Tampere, Finland.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 FEB 2004
  2. Article first published online: 13 FEB 2004
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 3 NOV 2003

Funded by

  • EU (as a part of the INCO-Copernicus Program, EPIVIR Project). Grant Number: IC15-CT98-0316
  • JDF-Wallenberg Foundation. Grant Number: k98-99JD-12813-01A, No 1997-73
  • Swedish Medical Research Council. Grant Number: k99-72X-11242-05A
  • Söderbergs Foundation
  • Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation (to H.V.)
  • Estonian Science Foundation. Grant Number: 4631

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Keywords:

  • enterovirus;
  • antibody;
  • IgG;
  • type 1 diabetes;
  • epidemiology

Abstract

The incidence of type 1 diabetes varies markedly between countries. As enterovirus infections have been linked to type 1 diabetes, we determined whether this variation correlates with the frequency of enterovirus infections in different Caucasian populations in Europe. Enterovirus antibodies were examined in the background population (1-year-old and 10-14–year-old children) in seven countries with either exceptionally high (Finland and Sweden) or low/intermediate incidence of diabetes (Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia) using EIA and neutralisation assays. Enterovirus antibodies were less frequent in countries with high diabetes incidence compared to countries with low diabetes incidence (P < 0.001). This suggests that enterovirus infections are not particularly common in countries with high diabetes incidence. In contrast, there seems to be an inverse correlation between the incidence of type 1 diabetes and enterovirus infections in the background population, which is in line with the previously proposed polio hypothesis according to which the complications of enterovirus infections become more common in an environment with a decreased rate of infections. J. Med. Virol. 72:610–617, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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