Congratulations to first author Jing W. Hughes, MD, PhD, senior author Janet B. McGill, MD and collaborators on their recent publication. The findings from their research study were published October 25 in Diabetes Care. Collaborators inlcuded: Yicheng K. Bao, Maamoun Salam, Prajesh Joshi, C. Rachel Kilpatrick, Kavita Juneja, David Nieves, Victoria Bouhairie, Olivia J. Jordan, Erica C. Blustein, and Garry S. Tobin.
The authors wrote, “In this cross-sectional cohort study, we sought to characterize the incident ages and prevalence of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) in adults with Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) across a wide age spectrum.” Type 1 diabetes is associated with other autoimmune diseases, which may have serious health consequences.
The results of the study were: “Mean age of Type 1 diabetes onset was 21.2 ± 14.4 years. Autoimmune disease incidence and prevalence increased with age. Female sex strongly predicted autoimmune disease risk. The most prevalent T1DM-associated AIDs were thyroid disease, collagen vascular diseases, and pernicious anemia. T1DM age of onset and T1DM duration predicted AID risk. Patients with late-onset T1DM after 30 years of age had higher risks of developing additional AIDs compared with patients with younger T1DM onset.”The authors’ conclusion stated that the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in patients with Type 1 diabetes increases with age and female sex. Later onset of T1DM is an independent and significant risk factor for developing additional AIDs. Individuals who are diagnosed with T1DM at older ages, particularly women, should be monitored for other autoimmune conditions.
Late-Onset T1DM and Older Age Predict Risk of Additional Autoimmune Disease