Prevalence of Thyroid Autoantibodies in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes in Kuwait

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in Kuwait. Subjects and Methods: Ina mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal study,anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) were measured in 232 subjects (118 males and 114 females) with type 1 diabetes. Results: The mean age of the total study population was 10.9 ± 3.6 years (range 1-21), and the median diabetes duration was 3.9 years (range 0-16). At the initial screening, 57 out of 232 (24.6%) patients had positive antibodies, and of the remaining 175 patients, who were antibody negative,131 (74.3%) were followed up for 4-9 years. 23 out of these 131 (17.7%) patients became antibody positive, with a cumulative prevalence of elevated antibodies of 34.5%. Anti-TPO was present in 34 (14.7%), anti-TG in 23 (9.9%) and both antibodies in 23 (9.9%) patients. Thyroid antibodies presented early within the first 5 years of the onset of diabetes (63.2 vs. 36.8%, p < 0.05). The prevalence of elevated thyroid antibodies increased after the onset of puberty in both females and males (p < 0.0001). A total of 58.7% of the patients with positive antibodies were females compared to 41% males (p < 0.0001). The basal thyroid-stimulating hormone was higher in subjects with positive antibodies (5.1 ± 10.7 mIU/l) compared to those who were antibody negative (1.79 ± 0.87 mIU/l, p < 0.001). Furthermore, 30 out of 232 (12.9%) patients developed thyroid dysfunction. Conclusion: In this study, a high prevalence of thyroid autoimmune antibodies was found in patients either at the onset of type 1 diabetes or within the 4-9 years of follow-up.

Increasing Co-occurrence of Additional Autoimmune Disorders at Diabetes Type 1 Onset Among Children and Adolescents Diagnosed in Years 2010–2018—Single-Center Study

“…Our results are consistent with existing studies that notice thyroid autoimmunity more often in girls (33,39) and increase by 4.6% in prevalence of hypothyroidism (including subclinical cases) for every 10-year increase of age in T1D and with diabetes duration (15). These findings correlate with overall trends of thyroid autoimmunity incidence in other countries (39,40) and also in Poland (41). Contrary to our findings, the meta-analysis based on 14 studies shows that the risk of thyroid dysfunction is much higher in children in comparison to adults (42).…”

<p>Elevated TPOAb is a Strong Predictor of Autoimmune Development in Patients of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Case–Control Study</p>

“…The close relationship between type 1 diabetes and thyroid autoimmunity has been reported in many previous studies. 12,[15][16][17] In recent years, some studies have shown that the elevated levels of thyroid autoantibodies are correlated with T2DM. 18,19 Osei Sarfo-Kantanka et al found a higher prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity in T2DM patients compared to healthy people.…”

Pattern of thyroid, celiac, and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide autoantibodies coexistence with type 1 diabetes mellitus in patients from Southwestern Saudi Arabia

“…The prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies is similar to the prevalence measured in the Western (Jeddah; 14%) 16 but higher than Central KSA (Riyadh; 8.1%). 17 The prevalence of T1DM reported in Jordan (9.2%), 18 Egypt (12%), 19 and Sudan (7.3%) 20 showed some variations, and a much higher prevalence was reported in studies of thyroid autoantibodies in T1DM children from Kuwait (24.6%), 21 and Libya (31.4%). 22 Global variations in prevalence have been shown in different studies.…”