Diabetes health professionals have a duty to advise their type 1 diabetes patients that their immediate family members have a 15-fold increased risk of getting the disease, an expert advises.

Speaking to ADS/ADEA delegates this morning Dr Carla Greenbaum, from the Benaroya Research Institute in Seattle in the US, said screening family members for antibodies to determine their risk was not yet a recommended part of clinical practice.

However, diabetes health professionals should inform their patients of the increased risk and refer them, and their families, to clinical trials, she said.