Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. In a person with T1D, the immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This process starts gradually.

T1D can develop at any age. It’s been diagnosed in infants, senior citizens, and every age in between.

People with T1D must take insulin every day to manage safe blood glucose levels and stay alive. Learning how to manage T1D is a never ending journey that can be incredibly overwhelming, frustrating, scary, and confusing.  

While researchers don’t know why it starts, they do know that most people develop the earliest stages of T1D potentially years before symptoms start. Today, you can screen your family members for autoantibodies that develop in the blood when your immune system attacks those pancreatic cells. 

Most people who develop T1D test positive for those autoantibodies before they’re even 5 years old — even if they don’t develop symptoms and need insulin until their teens or 20s.

With enough support and education, children and adults with T1D can live life to the fullest!