A trial screening programme for type 1 diabetes will be launched in the UK.
Thousands of children between the ages of three and 13 are being invited to take part in a study on autoimmune diabetes.
The aim is to assess children's risk of developing type 1 diabetes at the earliest stage possible to ensure a quick and safe diagnosis.
As general population screening programmes for type 1 diabetes emerge around the world, we need to explore how best to screen children in the UK
He said: "We hope that the introduction of a type 1 diabetes early detection programme for children in the UK will encourage families with children at a suitable age to take part."
About 400,000 people in the UK are thought to have type 1 diabetes.
It is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone in order to cause blood sugar levels to rise.
More than 25% of children in the UK are not diagnosed with type 1 diabetes until they are in a hospital with a serious disease.
Blood tests will be used to assess children's risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
These tests will look for markers that the immune system uses to destroy cells that produce blood sugar levels that are higher than normal. People who have autoantibodies in their blood are less likely to develop type 1 diabetes.
Monitoring autoantibodies reduces the risk of being diagnosed, according to experts.
There are new treatments that target the immune system that could be used to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes.
The scientists said that children found to be at high risk during the screening programme could be invited to take part in the research.
The experts said that children and their families would be offered support and education to prepare them for the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.
The director of research at Diabetes UK said that identifying children at high risk of type 1 diabetes could put them and their families on the front foot.
She said that extra years without the condition meant a child no longer lived on a knife edge of blood sugar checks andinsulin injections.
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