(WXYZ) — November is Diabetes Awareness Month; It’s a disease that affects millions of people across the United States – both type one and type two.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease. Breakthrough T1D, formerly known as JDRF, reports that approximately 9 million people worldwide are living with T1D. It is a disease that can appear at any time.

However, growing research is helping scientists and doctors learn more about the disease. One of the ways they gather this information is through early screening.

Last year, Sanofi, a healthcare company specializing in diabetes care and research, launched “The 1 Pledge” aimed at encouraging screening.

Dr. Jessica Dunne, medical director of autoimmune diabetes at Sanofi, said that in early screening, they test for four islet autoantibodies. Since T1D is an autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks the beta cells of the pancreas, and it is these beta cells that produce insulin.

“It was found that these islet cell autoantibodies were actually very predictive of disease progression,” Dunne said. “What we do know is that they are a marker of impending disease.”

According to Dunne, they are looking for four different autoantibodies. She said research has shown that if you develop two or more islet autoantibodies, you are at risk for T1D.

In fact, according to Dunne, your five-year risk of developing T1D is 44%; your 10-year risk is 70%; and your lifetime risk reaches almost 100%.

Early detection is also essential to reduce diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at the time of diagnosis. According to Dunne, 40 to 60 percent of people are diagnosed with DKA, leading to serious consequences.

According to the CDC, DKA develops when your body doesn’t have enough insulin to allow blood sugar to enter your cells and use it for energy. DKA is a serious illness that can lead to diabetic coma and even death.

“We know from these students, where you can screen them and follow them over time before they get a diagnosis, that number is reduced to 3 to 5 percent in some cases,” Dunne said.

Watch more of our interview with Dr. Jessica Dunne in the video below

Interview with Dr. Jessica Dunne about screening for type 1 diabetes

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter also partnered with Sanofi to encourage early detection. His wife has been a type 1 diabetic for over two decades. He said he was examined, as were their children.

“The more information you have, the better off you are.” So why not screen for something like that if you were given the opportunity to do it in advance,” Schefter said.

Schefter said that while he knows it can be scary to get tested and worry while waiting for results, getting tested is better than not knowing.

“Early detection is, in our opinion, critically important and it helps give you the knowledge and education you need in advance,” Schefter said. “It just makes a lot of sense and people are ahead of the game if they do it.”

Watch more of our interview with Adam Schefter in the video below

ESPN’s Adam Schefter talks screening for type 1 diabetes

Another reason to encourage screening is to help combat misdiagnosis. T1D is often thought of as diabetes that you are born with or developed as a child, but according to Dunne, the median age of diagnosis of T1D is around 25, and 50 to 60 percent of people receive a diagnosis in adulthood.

On a personal level, my wife, Carol, was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 27 in January 2023. However, she was misdiagnosed for over a year.

At a Beyond Type 1 event in April as part of the NFL Draft weekend, I was screened for T1D. His brother was also screened.

“Simply understanding and being able to treat type 1 diabetes appropriately starts with a correct diagnosis,” Dunne said.

So, who should get tested? It’s actually very complex, according to Dunne. Family members are at 15 times higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes. However, 90% of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes do not have a family member who has been diagnosed.

“It kind of begs the question: How can we screen the general population to detect the majority of people with type 1 diabetes? » said Dunne.

“If you have a family history and/or suffer from type 1 diabetes or another autoimmune disease or simply have low blood sugar and may not fit what would be considered a profile For someone with type 2 diabetes, we encourage you to go and talk to your doctor about getting tested for type 1 diabetes,” Dunne added. “This is the starting point. But ultimately, we would really like to move towards a place where we are screening the population for type 1 diabetes.”

EssayNet allows the screening of these groups of people:

• Between 2 and 45 years old who have a parent, sibling or child with T1D
• Between 2 and 20 years old with an uncle/aunt, cousin, grandparent, nephew/niece or half-brother/sister with T1D
• Have not been diagnosed

Dunne also said people often think a T1D diagnosis is a cliff-hanger, but in reality, there are actually steps to the diagnosis and screening can help catch the diagnosis earlier.
“What we really know now is that there’s a long period of time before a diagnosis that can be four years in some people where the disease is actually active, but it’s subclinical,” Dunne said. “Which means that we are not really aware that a disease exists, because people who appear healthy on the outside do not have any symptoms.”

According to Breakthrough in T1D And Sanofithe first stage is when the beta cells begin to attack, but the blood sugar is within the normal range and there are no signs or symptoms. The second stage is where autoantibodies are present, but blood sugar levels are abnormal. The third stage occurs when your body is no longer able to produce enough insulin, if at all, and visible signs and symptoms appear. This is usually when T1D is diagnosed.

Be sure to watch out for the signs of type 1 diabetes. They include:

• Frequent urination
• Extreme thirst
• Dry mouth
• Fatigue and weakness
• Increases appetite even if you eat
• Unexplained weight loss
• Blurred vision

Dunne said researchers are still working to understand when adults develop the islet autoantibodies, which makes screening a little more difficult.
“My goal is that within five or ten years we will be doing pediatric screening in the general population. You know, as part of our standard of care. I think we’re at the point where we have the tools to do it,” Dunne said.