Prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies in type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroiditis

High levels of anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies may predict vascular complications that could develop in type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). However, the clinical relevance of these antibodies in subjects with type 1 diabetes and AIT is unclear.

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and significance of aCL antibodies in patients with type 1 diabetes and AIT.

The study involved 74 patients with type 1 diabetes (mean age 12.9 +/-4.2 years), 64 patients with AIT (mean age 14.1 +/-3.7 years), and 35 healthy control subjects (mean age 12.8 +/-3.3 years). The levels of aCL immunoglobulin (Ig) G and aCL IgM antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Low-positive and medium/high-positive cut-off values were selected for aCL antibody positivity.

The prevalence of aCL antibodies was higher in AIT patients compared with diabetic and healthy subjects with low positive levels (P <0.05), while the frequency of medium/high aCL positive levels in AIT and diabetic subjects was not statistically different from that observed in healthy subjects.

Our study showed an increased prevalence of aCL antibody positivity in patients with AIT at a low-positive aCL cut-off level, while the frequency of aCL antibody positivity at a moderate/high aCL cut-off level was not significantly different between the groups. We believe that routine investigation of aCL levels may not have clinical relevance in children with type 1 diabetes or AIT.