Background: The prevalence of individuals with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) among diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease is unknown. Furthermore, there are no references in the literature about the persistence of glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA) in uraemic LADA patients. The aim of the study, therefore, was to evaluate the prevalence of LADA, classified according to special features, in diabetic patients undergoing dialysis therapy as well as to find out the frequency of GADA in these patients. In addition, we investigated vascular risk factors and the prevalence of vascular diseases in each type of diabetes.
Methods: 538 patients undergoing chronic dialysis therapy from 37 Austrian dialysis centres were analysed in the study. Patients were divided into three groups: patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and patients with LADA. The classification of the different types of diabetes was based on the guidelines of the German Diabetes Society. We measured GADA and estimated the baseline data with reference to body mass index (BMI), age at onset of diabetes and at initiating dialysis therapy, the actual values of haemoglobin (Hb) A1c and cholesterol and the prevalence of vascular diseases by using a structured questionnaire.
Results: Type 1 diabetes was classified in 52 patients, type 2 diabetes in 434 and LADA in 52 (9.7%). The prevalence of positive GADA was 17.3% in the type 1 diabetic patients and 26.9% in the LADA patients. There was no positive GADA in the type 2 diabetic subjects. Age at the onset of diabetes and age at the start of dialysis were approximately the same in the LADA and the type 2 diabetic patients, while the age of the subjects with type 1 diabetes was significantly lower (P<0.001). BMI was significantly lower (25+/-3 vs 27+/-5 kg/m2) in the LADA patients than in the type 2 diabetic patients. The mean HbA1c value in the LADA patients was significantly higher than in the subjects with type 2 diabetes (P<0.01). Blood pressure (BP) was similar between LADA and type 1 or type 2 diabetes, though diastolic BP tended to be lower in the LADA patients than in the type 1 diabetics. The cholesterol levels were comparably high in each type of diabetes. In the LADA patients, the prevalence of retinopathy was lower than in the type 1 diabetics and the prevalence of stroke and angina pectoris was lower than in the type 2 diabetic patients, but the differences were not significant.
Conclusions: The prevalence of LADA in diabetic patients on maintenance dialysis was 9.7%. This value is comparable to the frequency of LADA at onset of diabetes. The frequency of persisting GAD autoantibodies was 27% in the LADA patients and 17% in the type 1 diabetic patients. BMI was significantly lower in the LADA patients than in the type 2 diabetic patients, while diastolic BP only tended to be lower in the LADA patients than in the type 1 diabetics. The prevalence of vascular diseases was not significantly different between LADA and types 1 or 2 diabetes. According to our data it can be assumed that only a few uraemic patients with LADA are suitable for simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation.