The Prevalence of Associated Autoimmune Diseases Among Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background The relationship between type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and other autoimmune diseases has been known; however, the actual prevalence in the adult population nor clinical symptoms has not been determined locally. Objectives We aim to determine the prevalence of associated autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, celiac disease (CD), and adrenal insufficiency (AI)) and evaluate the most reporting symptoms and glycemic control assessment, as well as microvascular complications and hypoglycemia episodes. Methods A cross-sectional study of 251 patients with T1DM at the diabetic clinic of King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh (KAMC-RD), Saudi Arabia, was conducted. Autoimmune serologies including thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibody and tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG-IgA) antibody were checked with hormonal studies such as thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), morning serum cortisol, and short Synacthen test (SST) with duodenal biopsy results all were reviewed if present. Patients were directly interviewed to evaluate for the most common symptoms (including hypoglycemia episodes) for the preceding two weeks. Glycemic control was assessed by measuring glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Microvascular complications (i.e., nephropathy and retinopathy) were estimated by looking at the urine albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) besides the ophthalmology’s visit notes. Results The mean age was 26.3 ± 7.7 years, and the mean duration of diabetes at the time of data collection was 12.2 ± 7.6 years, whereas the mean HbA1c was 8.9% ± 1.8%. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was 16.3%, and TPO positivity was discovered in 58.6% of the tested patients (n = 70) with equal prevalence among both genders (p = 0.685). tTG-IgA were noticed among 16.4% of the patients (n = 164) without significant difference among gender. Serum cortisol test was performed among 128 patients; 28.1% had suboptimal levels, and 5.5% were deficient. Only four patients (n = 15) had suboptimal responses after SST. Nervousness and anxiety (p < 0.001), fatigue with weakness (p = 0.018), weight gain (p = 0.017), and cold intolerance (p = 0.005) were noted, which were statistically significantly higher among females. Weight gain was statistically significantly higher among the age group of >30 years (p = 0.036). For microvascular complication screening, ACR was collected in 199 (79.2%) participants, with a mean of 27.7 ± 155.9 mg/mmol. Only 10 (5%) patients had microalbuminuria, and 16 (8%) had macroalbuminuria; it was correlated significantly with diabetes duration (p = 0.045). A total of 132 (52.8%) patients were seen by ophthalmology, 28 (21.4%) had nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and 10 (7.6%) has proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) that significantly correlated with the duration of diabetes (p = 0.027). During patient interviews, 187 (74.5%) reported symptomatic hypoglycemia events that correlated significantly with glycemic control (p = 0.029). Conclusion Autoimmunity in Saudi adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus was significant with equal prevalence among both genders and age groups with no or slight difference. Clinical manifestations of autoimmunity were higher in women. Diabetes chronicity and poor glycemic control were the major complications; therefore, early glycemic control is advocated. Regular screening for autoimmunity and its complications is recommended for type 1 diabetic patients. Autoimmunity was found almost similar to previous literature.