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When Daleen Smith's daughter Janelle became lethargic, unusually thirsty, lost 20 pounds and began wetting the bed at age 9, her mother didn't know what to think.
She initially forgot about the blood samples she'd sent to Seattle every couple of years since Janelle was born.
It wasn't until April 2007, when Janelle landed in the hospital nearly in a diabetic coma, that Smith remembered researchers from the DEW-IT (Diabetes Evaluation in Washington) study had found indicators of potential type 1 diabetes in Janelle's blood samples.
"I'd forgotten that they'd found the tracers," said Smith, of Richland. "Knowing today that it was there, it made it easier because we were forewarned."
The Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute study that aims to predict type 1 diabetes before kids get sick has been expanded and now offers free screenings to all babies born in Eastern and Central Washington. The screenings will be available statewide next year.
"Knowing from the beginning that your child could develop it -- you can brace yourself," Smith said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls type 1 diabetes one of the most common and serious chronic childhood diseases.
The autoimmune disease, which destroys the body's ability to produce insulin and convert food into energy, affects one in every 300 people. More than 15,000 U.S. children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year.
The DEW-IT study aims to spot diabetes before children get sick and end up in hospitals by educating parents of high-risk children about signs of diabetes and its symptoms.
"Previous research found a drop in hospitalization from 40 percent to 4 percent when parents had their child enrolled in this type of study," said Dr. Bill Hagopian, an endocrinologist and the principal investigator of the DEW-IT study.
Study participants agree to have their babies' leftover bloodspots screened for genetic indicators of the disease. Researchers say all children should be screened because 90 percent of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes don't have a family history of the disease.
"There's no sense why we couldn't take another dot (of blood) for diabetes," Smith said when Janelle, now 11, first was screened. "Testing from when they're newborns is wonderful."
Kids who are identified to be at highest risk for type 1 diabetes are monitored on a routine basis for predictive markers of the disease, allowing researchers and parents to know if diabetes is more likely to occur.
Because Janelle had no family history but was diagnosed with the disease, Smith enrolled her 9-year-old son Eric in the study when he was 7.
"In my son I'll know to watch for those symptoms if the traces come up," Smith said. "The intervention is so important."
Information about the study and consent forms are available at local hospitals and clinics. Call 888-324-8331 for more information.
