Report: Many Type 1 diabetics have other immune diseases

NEW YORK — Many children with Type 1 diabetes have other autoimmune disorders as well, according to published reports.

Citing findings in a recent study of nearly 500 children published in the journal Diabetes Care, Reuters reported that one-third of children with the disease — an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the cells of the pancreas — also have such disorders as celiac disease, autoimmune thyroid disease and a disorder of the adrenal glands called Addison’s disease.

For example, one-quarter of the children had antibodies related to thyroid disease, while one-eighth of those children had the disease; one-eighth of the children had the antibodies for celiac disease, while one-quarter of those children had the disease.

About 25.8 million Americans have diabetes, and Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5% of all diagnosed cases in adults, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, part of the National Institutes of Health.