Endocrine Abstracts

Aim: To study the effect of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and concurrent autoimmune condition (AI) on long term glycemic control and growth in children.

Methods: Twenty-eight children with T1DM and associated autoimmune condition were matched by sex and age at onset with two controls each. HbA1C, height SDS, weight SDS and BMI SDS were measured between 6 months and 5 years after developing T1DM.

Results: We included 28 children with T1DM and AI (10 males) and 56 (20 males) age and sex matched controls with T1DM. Out of the 28 patients with AI conditions, 21 (75%) had coeliac disease (CD), 8 (28%) had autoimmune hypothyroidism (AH) and 1 (4%) patient had both CD and AH. Development of an AI condition occurred at 2.3±3.1 years after diagnosis of T1DM. There was no significant difference in growth parameters height SDS, weight SDS and BMI SDS between children in the AI group compared with controls from diagnosis to 5 years after diagnosis of T1DM. Children in the AI group had a significantly better HbA1c control 6 months after diagnosis, but no significance was noted at 1, 2, 3 and 5 years. Multiple logistic regression of factors showed no independent risk factors that affected the development of an AI.

Conclusion: Suboptimal therapeutic control of an autoimmune condition such as coeliac disease and T1DM is known to lead to impairment in growth and substantial morbidity. Our study shows children with T1DM developing a concurrent autoimmune disease were not at risk of worsening metabolic control or growth impairment long term.