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. In patients with an autoimmune endocrine disease, there is a high risk of development of another autoimmune endocrine disorder. The purpose of our work is to assess the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity among our LADA patients.

Patients and methods: Our study has included 17 patients followed for LADA. Thyroid status and thyroid autoimmunity were ordered in all patients.

Results: The mean age of patients was 46.7 years and the mean age of discovery was 40.5 years. The sex ratio was 1.4 with a female predominance. The average BMI was 24.5 kg/m². The TPO antibodies were positive in five of our patients (29.4% of cases), including four women. The rate of anti-GAD antibodies was higher in the LADA group with positive anti TPO antibody compared to the group with negative anti TPO (345.6 mUI/l vs. 250.4 mUI/l).

Discussion: The prevalence of thyroid antibodies in patients with LADA varies between 20 and 30%. The association has been explained by the sharing of a common genetic material, but also by a deficit in the immune regulation or a poor ability to develop tolerance to auto antigens.

Conclusion: Thyroid autoimmunity is frequently observed in LADA diabetes, identifying a particular phenotype of patients with higher titer of anti GAD antibodies, and eventually, a poor glycemic control where the interest of its systematic screening.