Red meat intake during pregnancy and childhood and risk of type 1 diabetes: findings from the ABIS birth cohort
Authors' conclusion
Childhood beef consumption may contribute to type 1 diabetes development in genetically at-risk individuals. Further research is needed to confirm this finding and clarify underlying mechanisms.
Study context
- Population
- Children in the All Babies In Southeast Sweden (ABIS) cohort, followed for T1D via national registers until age 24–26 years; diet assessed by food frequency questionnaires in pregnancy and at ages 1, 2.5 and 5 years
- Participants
- 15,717 children
- Exposure
- Higher vs lower red meat intake frequency, maternal and early-life
- Outcome
- T1D diagnosis
- Follow-up
- Until the age of 24-26 years
Methodological detailspopulation-based, national register follow-up, stratified by HLA risk genotype and family history of T1D
- Population-based
- National register follow-up
- Stratified by HLA risk genotype and family history of T1D
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Red meat intake during pregnancy, aHR per serving/week
0.98
95% CI 0.90, 1.07
Red meat intake at age 1, aHR per serving/week
0.98
95% CI 0.88, 1.08
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Higher frequency of beef intake, T1D risk · age 5
- Beef at age 5, HR
- 1.29 (95% CI 1.05, 1.58)
- Beef at age 2.5, HR (95% CI 0.93, 1.36), similar tendency
- 1.12
Beef intake at age 5 and T1D, by HLA genotype and family history
- High-risk HLA genotypes, HR
- 1.40 (95% CI 1.11, 1.78)
- Family history of T1D, HR
- 1.56 (95% CI 1.08, 2.26)
- Low-risk HLA genotypes, HR (95% CI 0.10, 1.19), not statistically significant
- 0.34
- No family history of T1D, HR (95% CI 0.92, 1.56), not statistically significant
- 1.20
Beef during pregnancy or at age 1; pork and sausage at any age
- No associations found
Original publication
Red meat intake during pregnancy and childhood and risk of type 1 diabetes: findings from the ABIS birth cohort. Diabetologia. Published 7 February 2026. doi:10.
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