HLA and insulin-dependent diabetes in South African negroes

The HLA antigens of 57 South African negroes with juvenile-onset, insulin-dependent diabetes were determined. The frequency of B8 was increased (29.8% VS 13.9%) as was the frequency of B14 (17.5% vs 6.1%). The frequency of patients with either one of these cross-reactive antigens was significantly increased after correction for the number of antigens tested (45.6% VS 19.2%, P (corrected) < 0.005).