European type 1 diabetes screening initiative reaches key milestone

A major European screening initiative for early‑stage type 1 diabetes has passed an important milestone, with over 100,000 children and adolescents having been tested across a number of European countries. The EDENT1FI project goal is to screen more than 200,000 young people for islet autoantibodies to identify pre-symptomatic type 1 diabetes.

Launched in 2023, the programme has expanded screening to Czechia, Poland and Portugal while strengthening existing initiatives in Germany, Italy, the UK, Denmark and Sweden. Researchers say the milestone demonstrates that early‑stage detection models, first developed in Germany’s Fr1da study, can be successfully implemented across different healthcare systems.

Screening settings vary by country, with programmes conducted in primary care, hospitals, schools and homes. EDENT1FI, however, harmonised autoantibody detection and data collection across all participating sites. Central laboratories and quality‑control systems now support screening at a rate of around 6500 participants per month.

Project leads emphasise the clinical importance of early diagnosis, especially following the 2026 European approval of teplizumab immunotherapy for children aged 8 years or older with presymptomatic (stage 2) type 1 diabetes. Early detection enables timely monitoring, family support and opportunities for disease‑modifying therapies, such as teplizumab, that may delay progression to symptomatic (stage 3) type 1 diabetes, when insulin therapy becomes necessary.

In the UK, teplizumab has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), but is not available on the NHS. NICE is currently considering whether it should be funded for use.

While EDENT1FI’s progress highlights growing momentum in Europe, the logistical, ethical and financial considerations of population-level screening continue to be discussed. Ultimately, EDENT1FI plans to screen 220,000 children and adolescents across Europe to identify those at risk and to support the development of future preventive treatments.