| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2796427 | Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice | 2014 | 9 Pages |
AimsWe investigated the prevalence of diabetes autoantibodies (Abs) in Cameroonian patients and controls, assessed their contribution in disease classification and compared results with data from Belgium.MethodsAbs against GAD (GADA), IA-2 (IA-2A) and zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) were assessed in 302 recently diagnosed Cameroonian patients with diabetes and 184 control subjects without diabetes aged below 40 years.ResultsOnly 27 (9%) Cameroonian patients were younger than 15 years. Overall, 29% of patients presented at least one diabetes-associated antibody vs 9% in healthy controls (24% vs 7% for GADA (p < 0.001), 10% vs 3% for IA-2A (p < 0.006), 4% vs 2% for ZnT8A). Ab+ patients had lower C-peptide levels (p < 0.001), were more often insulin-treated (p < 0.002) and were as frequently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as Ab− patients. Only 43% of Ab+ patients aged 15–39 years were clinically classified as having type 1 diabetes in Cameroon vs 96% in Belgium (p < 0.001). Not one Ab+ Cameroonian patient carried HLA-DQ2/DQ8 genotype vs 23% of Belgian Ab+ patients (p < 0.001). Younger age at diagnosis and antibody positivity were independent predictors of insulin therapy. Ab+ Cameroonian patients were older (p < 0.001), had higher BMI (p < 0.001) and lower Ab titers than Belgian Ab+ patients. In ketonuric patients, prevalence of autoantibodies was similar as in non-ketonuric patients.ConclusionsIn Cameroonian patients with diabetes aged under 40 years, antibody-positivity is not clearly related to disease phenotype, but may help predict the need for insulin treatment.
