Endocrine Abstracts

People with type 1 diabetes are at increased risks of developing other autoimmune conditions. These include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease. There is a prevalence of 4 to 18% of autoimmune hypothyroidism in patients with type 1 diabetes; 8% more than the general population. Only 17% of autoimmune thyroid antibodies are detected during initial diagnosis of type 1 diabetes therefore it is recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) that thyroid function should be checked every 1 to 2 years post diagnosis. The aim of this audit was to determine if patients with type 1 diabetes were screened for autoimmune thyroid disease every 1 to 2 years after diagnosis as per the ADA guidelines. This retrospective study occurred in September 2023. All patients with type 1 diabetes attending Sligo University Hospital were included in the study. Data including demographics, duration of diabetes and date of last thyroid function screening were obtained from the Prowellness diabetes database. Thyroid function screening comprised of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine measurements. A total of 584 patients data were analysed. Demographics included 44% female and 56% males with an average age of 28. 92% (n = 538) had thyroid function screening performed with majority (78%, n = 418) occurring within one year and 22% (n = 120) within two years. Of the patients screened, 6.5% (n = 35) were hypothyroid and 2.4% (n = 13) were hyperthyroid. Autoimmune thyroid disease has a high prevalence in type 1 diabetes due to the sharing of HLA antigens. It is important that we screen and detect asymptomatic thyroid dysfunction in order to prevent overt hypothyroidism and associated complications. Whilst this audit highlights excellent screening rates for thyroid autoimmune disease (92%) in Sligo University Hospital, actions can be implemented to increase rates to 100%.