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Original Studies |
Department of Medicine (C.T., M.L.-O.), University Hospital, 221 85 Lund, Sweden; Department of Medicine, R. H. Williams Laboratory (Å.L.) and Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center and Diabetes Care Center, DVA Puget Sound Health Care System (J.P.P.), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Department of Medicine and Care (H.J.A.), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Internal Medicine (G.B.), Stockholm Söder Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medicine (F.L.), Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Community Health Sciences (B.L.), University of Malmö/Lund, Malmö, Sweden; Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine (L.N.), University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Community Health Sciences Dalby/Lund (B.S.), Lund, Sweden; Department of Endocrinology (G.S.), Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden; Department of Medicine (L.W.), University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden; and Department of Medicine (J.Ö.), Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
Address correspondence and requests for reprints to: Carina Törn, B 11, BMC, 221 84 Lund, Sweden. E-mail: Carina.Torn{at}med.lu.se
| Abstract |
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It is concluded that the absence of pancreatic islet autoantibodies at diagnosis were highly predictive for a maintained ß-cell function during the 2 yr after diagnosis, whereas high levels of GADA indicated a course of decreased ß-cell function with low levels of C-peptide. In autoimmune diabetes, an initial low level of C-peptide was a strong risk factor for a decrease in ß-cell function and conversely high C-peptide levels were protective. Other factors such as age, gender, body mass index, levels of ICA, IA-2A or IAA had no prognostic importance.
| Introduction |
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The population of young adult diabetic patients consists of a mixture of patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who are difficult to separate on a clinical basis. Many adult patients with type 1 diabetes have, contrary to children, a well preserved ß-cell function at diagnosis. It is, therefore, of importance to improve the clinical classification and to find prognostic factors for the ß-cell function in the autoimmune type of diabetes. In this study, we have determined pancreatic islet autoantibodies at diagnosis and used this to separate patients into autoimmune and nonautoimmune diabetes, and we hypothesized that autoantibodies at diagnosis could give an indication of initial and future ß-cell function.
The main aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors among those variables [age, body mass index (BMI), C-peptide, gender, and autoantibodies] that are measured at the time of clinical diagnosis in most patients with tentative type 1 diabetes. Specifically, we wanted to test whether any of the four islet autoantibodies (ICA, GADA, IA-2A, or IAA) or the other previously mentioned clinical variables were more important than others in determining the course of ß-cell function after diagnosis in autoantibody-positive patients.
| Materials and Methods |
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In this nationwide population-based study, patients were registered in the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS). Blood samples were obtained from consecutive patients, 1534 yr of age, newly diagnosed with diabetes (except gestational diabetes) between 1992 and 1993. The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and reporting to DISS was done by the patients treating physician, and diagnosis was based on blood glucose levels according to criteria from WHO (26). All information was reported on a standardized form to DISS, including duration of symptoms, presence of coma, blood glucose, degree of ketonuria, body weight and height, and presence of ketoacidosis (bicarbonate <15 mmol/L and/or pH <7.3), together with clinical classification of diabetes.
Blood samples and clinical classification were obtained from 764 patients at diagnosis. Of patients included in the present report, 67% (187 of 281) donated the first blood sample within 7 days from diagnosis and 78% (220 of 281) within 14 days after diagnosis. During follow-up, all patients were contacted annually by mail and asked to donate a new blood sample. Patients who did not respond to the first letter were reminded with an additional letter. Both fasting and random samples were accepted, to maximize the number of samples and also to get the first sample as close to diagnosis as possible. There is no marked difference between fasting and nonfasting C-peptide in autoantibody-positive patients (27). The samples were taken at the local hospitals and sent by mail to our laboratory for analyses.
In the present report, only the 281 patients who donated samples at
diagnosis and at the two yearly sampling occasions were considered.
There were no differences in gender, age, C-peptide levels, BMI, or
frequency of autoantibody-positive patients or levels of
autoantibodies, between patients who donated yearly samples
(responders; n = 281) and patients who donated samples only at
diagnosis (nonresponders; n = 246) (Table 1
). The 281 patients were divided into
two groups, based on autoantibody status at diagnosis and not on
clinical classification. One group consisted of 224 (80%) patients
positive for at least one of ICAs, GADAs, or IA-2As at diagnosis, and
the other group consisted of 57 (20%) patients who were negative for
all three autoantibodies. The study was approved by the Ethical
Committees at all regional centers for DISS (Stockholm, Göteborg,
Linköping, Lund, Umeå, and Uppsala).
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C-peptide was analyzed by RIA using a commercial kit (Euro-Diagnostica AB, Malmö, Sweden). The reference range for the C-peptide assay was 0.251.0 nmol/L, and the detection limit was 0.13 nmol/L. The intra-assay variation was 5% (0.53.5 nmol/L), and the total variation (sum of inter- and intra-assay variation) was 7% in the same measurement interval.
ICAs were analyzed using a two-color immunofluorescence method, as described previously (28). The samples were diluted until negative. Thereafter, the highest positive titer was converted into Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Units (JDF-U), in accordance with a standard curve for the specific pancreas used. The lower detection limit was 6 JDF-U and was considered positive. The sensitivity was 100% and specificity 88% for the pancreas used in this study when tested in the International Diabetes Workshop (IDW) for standardization (29).
GADAs were analyzed with a radioimmunoprecipitation assay, as described in detail (30, 31). The reference range was defined using 833 blood samples from controls matched for age and sex. An index below 0.08 (97.5 percentile) was considered negative. The sensitivity was 81% and specificity 95% when tested in IDW for standardization (29).
IA-2As were analyzed by radioimmunoprecipitation assay using the ICA512 complementary DNA (32). It is likely that IA-2 and ICA512 represents the same protein and epitope because the overlapping region of their complementary DNA is identical except for one nucleotide (33). In the IDW (29), both the longer and the shorter versions of the protein used in RIAs gave similar sensitivity and specificity. An index below 0.05 (97.5 percentile) was considered as negative. The reference index was defined using the same controls as for GADA.
IAAs were analyzed in a radiobinding assay with displacement of cold insulin (9). A level above 0.7% of binding was considered positive. This threshold was based on previous results from healthy individuals. IAAs were only analyzed in samples taken within 7 days (180 of 281 in the responder group and 140 of 246 in the nonresponder group) after insulin treatment was initiated to avoid interference with antibodies formed against exogenous insulin.
Statistical analyses
Because levels of autoantibodies and C-peptide were not normally distributed, results are given as median and interquartile range. A C-peptide level of 0.25 nmol/L was used as a cut-off value for a low level after 2 yr because this is the lower level of the reference interval. The McNemars test was used to test whether frequencies of patients with a C-peptide above 0.25 nmol/L had changed over time.
The Spearman-rank correlation test (rs) was used to test whether age, BMI, initial levels of C-peptide, ICA, GADA, IA-2A or IAA correlated to levels of C-peptide during the 2 yr of follow-up. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences in C-peptide levels between groups. Friedmans test was used to test for differences in levels of C-peptide over time, and differences were further tested with the Wilcoxon signed rank test. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors (age, BMI, initial level of C-peptide, ICA, GADA, IA-2A, IAA, or gender) for a C-peptide level below 0.25 nmol/L 2 yr after diagnosis. In this analysis, the initial level of C-peptide was categorized into three groups (below 0.25 nmol/L, 0.250.50 nmol/L and above 0.50 nmol/L), as well as BMI (below 21 kg/m2, 2125 kg/m2 and above 25 kg/m2). A P less than , 0.05 was considered significant. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 6.1 for Macintosh; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL ) was used for the statistical analyses.
| Results |
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At diagnosis, the autoantibody-negative patients had significantly
higher C-peptide levels (n = 57; 0.51; 0.280.78 nmol/L) compared
with autoantibody-positive patients (n = 224; 0.27; 0.160.40
nmol/L; P < 0.001) (Fig. 1
). In autoantibody-positive patients,
C-peptide levels were unchanged during the first year after diagnosis,
but declined during the second year of follow-up (0.20; 0.100.37
nmol/L); P = 0.0018). Autoantibody-negative patients
(n = 57) had no significant changes during these 2 yr (Fig. 1
).
The only difference in C-peptide levels between genders was observed
after 1 yr in autoantibody-positive patients; C-peptide levels were
higher in men (n = 136; 0.30; 0.150.44 nmol/L) compared with
levels in women (n = 87; 0.22; 0.100.36 nmol/L;
P = 0.022). At diagnosis, 54.9% (123/224) of
autoantibody-positive patients had a C-peptide level above the lower
reference value of 0.25 nmol/L, and after 2 yr the frequency had
decreased to 41.5% (93 of 224; P < 0.01). In
autoantibody-negative patients there was no significant difference in
frequency of patients with a C-peptide above 0.25 nmol/L; it was 80.7%
(46 of 57) at diagnosis and 66.7% (38 of 57) after 2 yr.
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In the group of autoimmune diabetes (n = 224), high initial
levels of C-peptide were significantly correlated to high levels of
C-peptide during follow-up, and high levels of GADA were correlated to
low levels of C-peptide at diagnosis and during follow-up (Table 2
). BMIs were positively correlated to
initial levels of C-peptide (rs = 0.32;
P < 0.001) and also to age (rs =
0.28; P < 0.001).
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A low C-peptide level and high GADA at diagnosis were found to be
significant risk factors for a low (below the reference limit of 0.25
nmol/L) remaining C-peptide after 2 yr in a logistic regression model.
The OR for C-peptide was 2.6 (95%CI, 1.74.0) and for GADA 2.5
(95%CI, 1.15.7). In the next regression model, only patients with an
initial C-peptide above 0.25 nmol/L (n = 121) were considered.
Also in this model, the lower initial C-peptide in the interval
0.250.50 was the strongest risk factor (OR = 3.7; 95%CI,
1.59.1) for a low C-peptide after 2 yr, whereas GADA did not reach
significance as a risk factor in this analysis. In the third regression
model, where initial C-peptide was not included, high GADA at diagnosis
could be demonstrated to be a significant risk factor (OR = 2.9;
95%CI, 1.36.4) and also low BMI (OR = 1.8 95%CI, 1.22.7)
(Table 3
). Factors as age, gender, or
levels of other pancreatic islet autoantibodies (ICA or IA-2A or IAA)
were not significant.
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| Discussion |
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A nationwide study of this size, with several years of follow-up, is difficult to perform with complete sampling. To avoid a bias in the interpretation of the results of the followed group, we did a careful comparison of responders and nonresponders for the data available at diagnosis. Because no differences in sex ratio or proportion of autoantibody positives or any other important variables were found, we conclude that the 281 patients followed for 2 yr are representative for the entire cohort.
From the patients point of view, it is of highest priority to find prognostic factors for the course of ß-cell function. Even if the endogenous insulin production is insufficient to keep normal blood glucose levels, this insulin production facilitates a good metabolic control with only small or moderate doses of exogenous insulin. The finding that more than half of the young adult patients with autoimmune diabetes had a C-peptide level above the lower reference range suggests that part of the ß-cell function is left at the time of clinical diagnosis. In addition to this, we have showed that no significant decrease of ß-cell function occurs during the first year of disease, but during the second year. During the first year after diagnosis, the ß-cell function was in a steady state, and when future intervention become available, the degenerating process might be stopped to prolong this steady-state period. The finding that patients diagnosed with low levels of C-peptide and high levels of GADA are in particular risk to decrease in ß-cell function could be taken into account for future intervention studies.
In conclusion, the presence of autoantibodies were predictive for a decline of ß-cell function, measured as C-peptide, and conversely the absence of autoantibodies predicted a course of preserved ß-cell function during the first 2 yr after diagnosis. In autoimmune diabetes, low C-peptide level and also high GADA at diagnosis were risk factors for a decrease in ß-cell function. The levels of other autoantibodies (ICA or IA-2A or IAA) or factors such as age, BMI, or gender were of no prognostic importance for the course of ß-cell function.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received October 25, 1999.
Revised September 7, 2000.
Accepted September 9, 2000.
| References |
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