A new study at Oxford University Hospitals is investigating at-home diabetes tests which could play a key role in screening type-1 diabetes. The new tests have been labelled as “revolutionary” and offer a more efficient and less intrusive than previous tests for children.
The ‘GTT@home’ test was developed by Digostics, a British company focusing on digital clinics diagnostics and diabetes home testing. The test has already been implemented successfully at NHS trusts in Southeast England, where over 2,500 women were screened for gestational diabetes in pregnancy. However, this will be the first study looking at children.
This study is being led by researchers at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and is based at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It aims to fund and deliver health and social care research. The study will assess 90 children and young people to try to determine whether at home type-1 diabetes testing could become commonplace across the NHS.
The new at home test is a much more child-friendly way of testing for type-1 diabetes. Traditional tests involve undergoing blood draws and having to fast the night before. The new test consists of a blood sample collected with a finger prick. A glucose drink is then consumer, followed by a second finger prick two hours later.
Diabetes is caused by the destruction of cells in the pancreas which produce insulin, which results in elevated blood glucose levels. It leads to an increased risk of major health problems such as heart disease, blindness, and kidney failure.
Approximately 1 in 350 children are affected by type 1 diabetes, making it the most common autoimmune disease in children. Overall, it is estimated that type one diabetes costs the UK economy over £1.8 billion every year.
Rabbi Swaby, the study lead and Clinical Research Fellow in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, told Cherwell: ‘If successful, our study could pave the way for a more accessible way to perform the oral glucose tolerance test in children and young people of all ages, both in NHS care, and large research trials that rely on this test. We are recruiting until August 2025 and hope to have results by the end of 2025.’
