Prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in the Bayamon region

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe our experience in the Bayamon region with respect to the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity in our pediatric diabetic population. We identified a total of 78 patients with IDDM and all were examined to ascertain the presence of goiter. Thyroid profile, free thyroxine, thyrotropin, and thyroid microsomal autoantibodies were measured by radioimmunoassay in 65 of these patients. The data was analyzed using the Chi square test in order to correlate thyroid dysfunction with respect to sex and thyroid autoimmunity. Our results revealed a prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity in our IDDM patients of 15%, 40% of them had a goiter (p less than 001) and most of them were female (9 of 12). This is the lowest prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity in diabetic children reported in Hispanic groups in the United States thus far.