Abstract
We studied associations and onset patterns of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), also known as Graves' disease or Hashimoto's disease which requires hormone replacement. Of the 3,540 DM subjects with diabetes mellitus seen, 159 had T1DM, including 54 with slowly progressive insulin-dependent DM (SPIDDM) and 105 with acute onset T1DM. AITD was prevalent in 8.8% with T1DM, 0.8% with T2DM, 18.6% with SPIDDM, 3.9% with acute on set T1DM, 14.2% with anti-GAD antibody (GADA) positive T1DM, and 1.5% with GADA negative T1DM. AITD in T1DM was significantly higher than T2DM, and its prevalence in women was higher than in men. The prevalence of AITD in GADA of ≥50 U/ml was higher than <50 U/ml. In 14 T1DM with AITD, AITD preceded in all but 1 patient. These results show that the AITD prevalence in DM is higher in T1DM, women, positive GADA, high GADA, SPIDDM and AITD mostly precedes T1DM.
