Authors: Dorman, JS¹; Steenkiste, AR¹; O'Leary, LA¹; McCarthy, BJ²; Lorenzen, T³; Foley, TP⁴

Source: Pediatric Diabetes, Volume 1, Number 1, March 2000 , pp. 17-22(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

The objective of the present study was to examine the prevalence of self-reported autoimmune diseases among offspring of type 1 fathers, type 1 diabetic mothers, and non-diabetic parents. Type 1 diabetic probands (n=265; mean age=42 yr), who were ascertained from the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Registry for 1950-1964, recently participated in the Familial Autoimmune and Diabetes Study. Non-diabetic probands (n=96), identified from voter registration lists and matched by age, race, median income, and duration of residence in the Pittsburgh area, were also enrolled. Offspring of type 1 diabetic probands were more likely to have a reported autoimmune disease (5.8% vs. 2.4%; p=0.067) than offspring of non-diabetic probands. Half the cases in the diabetic families were disorders other than type 1 diabetes, (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, etc.). Stratification by parental gender revealed a marginally higher risk for type 1 diabetes among offspring of type 1 diabetic fathers compared to mothers (4.9% vs. 3.4%; p=0.38, respectively, through age 20 yr). However, the risk for other autoimmune disorders was statistically significantly increased among offspring of type 1 diabetic mothers (0% vs. 6.2%; p=0.02, respectively, through age 20 yr). These data suggest that offspring of type 1 diabetic parents may be at high risk of developing other autoimmune disorders during childhood, with pediatric diabetes representing the `tip of an autoimmune iceberg'. The observed risk differences by parental gender, which have also been reported for other autoimmune disorders, warrant further investigation.

Keywords: autoimmune diseases; epidemiology; offspring; risk; type 1 diabetes

Document Type: Original article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1399-5448.2000.010104.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 2: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; 3: Steno Diabetes Center, Niels Steensens Vej 2, Gentofte, Denmark; 4: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Publication date: 2000-03-01

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