Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT775

Objective: To provide an overview of the epidemiology of concurrent autoimmune conditions in pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients, with a specific focus on investigating sex-specific disparities and evaluating the impact of glycemic control. This research aims to contribute valuable insights to inform the development of screening policies for this patient population.

Methods: This retrospective observational study analyzed data from all patients diagnosed with T1DM who attended the endocrine clinic at Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital between 2017 and 2023. The study assessed various variables, including age, gender, glycemic control, thyroid function, and the presence of celiac disease (CD), among others.

Results: 346 patients diagnosed with T1DM were included in the study. Our cohort consisted of 166 (48.0%) males and 180 (52.0%) females, stratified into three age groups: ≤4 years (14.5%), 5-12 years (56.4%), and 13-18 years (29.3%). 166 (55.1%) patients had a BMI of <18.5 (underweight). 206 (59.5%) patients were from the UAE. 233 (75.9%) patients had uncontrolled HbA1C levels. The study focused on two autoimmune disorders: 24 (6.9%) patients with CD and 34 (9.8%) patients with thyroid disease, with 4 (1.2%) patients having both conditions. CD exhibited varying prevalence across age groups, with a statistically significant difference (p-value=0.043), being more common in children ≤4 years (12.0%). The prevalence of thyroid disease was higher in patients from the UAE (12.1%) than those from other countries (6.4%), showing a trend toward significance (p-value=0.080).

Conclusion: CD showed significant variations in prevalence across age groups, being most common among children aged 4 or younger\. Thyroid disease was notably more prevalent in patients from the UAE than in those from other countries, indicating a compelling trend toward significance. Additional research is needed to validate and further establish the significance of these observed associations.