Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is an endocrine disorder characterized by a progressive destruction of pancreatic beta cells by an autoimmune mechanism leading to absolute insulin deficiency. However, recent studies have shown the presence of a certain degree of insulin resistance in LADA patients, hence the possibility of the existence of a metabolic syndrome in these patients. The purpose of our work is to evaluate the presence of metabolic syndrome among our LADA patients.

Patients and methods: Our study has included 27 patients followed for LADA. Anthropometric measures, measurement of blood pressure and lipid status were ordered in all patients. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed on IDF criteria.

Results: The mean age of patients was 47.6 years and the mean age of discovery was 39.7 years. The sex ratio was 1.4 with a female predominance. 50% of our patients have normal BMI, 15.3% are thin, 15.3% are overweight and 19.2% are obese. Waist circumference was pathological in 57% of patients and 19.2% had hypertension. Hypertriglyceridemia was present in 14.8% of patients and hypo HDLemia in 22.2%. Metabolic syndrome was found in 22.2% of patients according to WHO or IDF criteria.

Conclusion: Our study showed that LADA patients may have a metabolic syndrome, and that the presence of the latter does not exclude the diagnosis of LADA. One could also think of the benefit of insulin sensitizers in the management of LADA diabetes.