Prevalence of IgA Antitissue Transglutaminase Antibodies in Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

The association of celiac disease with type 1 diabetes mellitus is known, but the evolution of celiac disease is most frequently asymptomatic, without any clinical signs. Thus, diagnosis is impossible to make in the absence of serological tests. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and the efficiency of IgA antitissue transglutaminase antibodies in the screening of celiac disease in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Method: During the course of 2008-2009, we performed an analytical clinical study that included the determination of IgA antitissue transglutaminase antibodies in a group of 119 children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Fifty-seven percent of the subjects were male and 43% were female, with a mean age of 1174 years. Results: By evaluating IgA antitissue transglutaminase antibodies, we obtained a prevalence of 9.2% in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus, with a sensitivity and specificity of 80 and 82.6%, respectively. Conclusions: There is an increased prevalence of IgA antitissue transglutaminase antibodies, which suggests the need to use this method as an effective first-line test in the screening of celiac disease in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 25:156-161, 2011. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.