Diabetes Care, Vol 21, Issue 11 1824-1827, Copyright © 1998 by American Diabetes Association
Islet cell autoimmunity in white and black children and adolescents with IDDM
IM Libman, M Pietropaolo, M Trucco, JS Dorman, RE LaPorte and D Becker
Department of Pediatrics, Rangos Research Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Diabetes Research Center, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. iml1@vms.cis.pitt.edu
OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of islet cell antibodies (ICA) and
antibodies to GAD65 and IA-2(ICA512) between black and white children and
adolescents at the diagnosis of IDDM in a large consecutive series of cases
from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: ICA
and antibodies to GAD65 and IA-2 were measured in 437 white and black
children and adolescents who were diagnosed with IDDM at < 19 years of
age at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from January 1983 to December
1985, from January to December 1989, and from January 1996 to December
1997. RESULTS: The prevalence of ICA(H), GAD65, and IA-2 antibodies was
significantly lower in blacks than whites at onset of the disease. In
contrast, the prevalence of ICA(R) alone was higher in blacks. None of the
antibodies were present in 12% of the blacks compared with 4% in whites.
The same pattern was seen in both sexes. The prevalence of antibodies in
white patients with onset of IDDM at <11 years of age was no different
than in those who developed IDDM during adolescence. In contrast, black
patients showed a significantly lower prevalence of almost all antibodies
in the adolescent group. CONCLUSIONS: Black adolescents were more likely to
not have antibodies, suggesting either that they have a nonautoimmune type
of diabetes or that antibodies are not being detected by these assays.