Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases among Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia

Objective: То find out the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction and celiac disease among Туре 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Material and Methods: A retrospective hospital-based study included 536 TIDM children at the Security Force Hospital, in Riyadh, Saudi Mabia during the period from September 2001 to June 2015. Results: Out of 536 patients, 11(2.1%) were diagnosed as `overt hypothyroidism, and 124(23.1%) were diagnosed as subclinical hypothyroidism. In addition, 101 (19%) patients had endomysial antibodies (EMA). Of these patients with positive EMA, 32.7% had histological changes in their small bowels. Presence of histological changes was significantly higher among those with high EMA serum levels than those with low levels. Conclusions: Prevalence of autoimmune diseases, e.g., autoimmune thyroiditis and celiac disease, are relatively high among patients with TIDM in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This high prevalence is associated with several biochemical changes, mainly in the form of antibodies production.