Introduction It is estimated that incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) will double between 2005 and 2020 in most countries. In recent decades, Kuwait has experienced substantial increase in the incidence of T1D (from 4.0/100 000 in 1980–1981 to 21/100 000 in1992–1997). We conducted a population-based case-control interview study in Kuwait to examine antenatal/perinatal factors that may be associated with the risk of T1D in the offspring.

Methods 376 case-control pairs (aged 0–19 years) individually matched on age, gender, nationality, and district of residence.

Results Univariate conditional logistic regression analysis showed that maternal age ≥25 years (OR=1.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.6), paternal age ≥30 years (2.1, 1.5 to 2.9), gestational diabetes (1.8, 1.1 to 3.2), birth order ≥3 (2.3, 1.4 to 3.7), having >5 siblings (1.9, 1.1 to 2.1), diabetes in sibling(s) (8.3, 2.9 to 23.2), autoimmune disease in mother (1.7, 1.1 to 2.5) and congenital malformation in the family (3.9, 2.1 to 7.1) were associated with a significantly increased risk of T1D; whereas maternal use of coffee, analgesics and vitamins were significantly protective. There was no association with parental consanguinity, parity, gestational age, caesarean delivery, or birth weight. In the multivariate analysis, birth order ≥4 (4.5, 1.6 to 12.3) and maternal use of vitamins during the pregnancy (0.2, 0.1 to 0.3) remained independently associated with T1D.

Conclusion A host of factors in the antenatal/perinatal period influence the risk of T1D in the offspring. Overall, the study presents a profile of increased risk with increasing age of parents, birth order, and number of siblings. The novel finding for a protective effect of maternal use of vitamins during pregnancy warrant further investigation.