What causes type 1 diabetes?

Although known to be an autoimmune disease, the precise triggers of T1D are largely unknown but genetic susceptibility and environmental factors both contribute to the development of the disease. The most significant contributor to genetic risk is the presence of certain HLA alleles, but other genes contribute to heritability as well.^[1] The research on environmental factors is comparatively less clear, but exposure to certain viruses (e.g., human enterovirus B), dietary factors (e.g., unsaturated fat, cow’s milk, vitamin D), and gut microbiota composition have all been associated with either a higher or lower risk of T1D.^[1]