In adults living with type 1 diabetes, additional autoimmune diseases are associated with more chronic complications and depression. A BETTER registry analysis.

AIM: People living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at elevated risk of additional autoimmune diseases (ADs) than the general population. We aimed to describe the association between additional ADs and T1D-related physical and mental burden in adults.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional analysis using data from the BEhaviors, Therapies, TEchnologies, and hypoglycemic Risk in T1D (BETTER) registry. Using patient reported-outcomes and validated questionnaires, we compared prevalence of vascular complications, hypoglycemia, and mental health issues between those with T1D alone (AD-) and T1D with additional AD (AD+).

RESULTS

Among 3222 participants (66.2 % female, 42.7 ± 15.0 years), 36.3 % reported ≥ 1 AD+. The AD+ group was older (+4.4 years) and more female (+17.7 %) than the AD- group. The AD+ group had similar HbA1c (P = 0.20) but was more likely to report level 2 hypoglycemia in the past month (OR: 1.27 [95 %Cl 1.06-1.52]) and level 3 hypoglycemia since diagnosis (1.22 [1.05-1.42]). The AD+ group reported more cardiovascular disease (1.40 [1.03 to 1.90]), nephropathy (1.49 [1.19-1.86]), neuropathy (1.38 [1.13-1.69]), retinopathy (1.48 [1.22-1.78]), higher depression scores (p = 0.015), and anxiety/depression medication use (1.31 [1.10-1.56]). Number of AD+ was positively associated with depression scores (1 AD+ P = 0.055, 2+ AD+ p = 0.027), level 3 hypoglycemia since diagnosis (1 AD+ p = 0.037, 2+ AD+ P = 0.025), and number of chronic complications (1 AD+ P < 0.001, 2+ AD+ P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

For people with T1D, living with additional ADs is associated with higher levels of physical and mental diabetes complications, warranting regular screening in this population.