Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Recently Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Positive Anti-Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Antibody

• Published in: Diabetes & metabolism journal Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 136 - 143
• Main Authors: Hwangbo, Yul, Kim, Jin Taek, Kim, Eun Ky, Khang, Ah Reum, Oh, Tae Jung, Jang, Hak Chul, Park, Kyong Soo, Kim, Seong Yeon, Lee, Hong Kyu, Cho, Young Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Diabetes Association / Daehan Dangnyobyeong Hakoe 01.04.2012; Korean Diabetes Association; 대한당뇨병학회
• Subjects: Antibodies; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Cholesterol; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus, type 1; Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Glucose; Glutamate decarboxylase; High density lipoprotein; Insulin resistance; Laboratories; Original; Peptides; 내과학; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Japan; Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Glutamate decarboxylase; Diabetes mellitus, type 1
• ISSN: 2233-6079; 2233-6087; 2233-6087
• DOI: 10.4093/dmj.2012.36.2.136

Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) refers to a specific type of diabetes characterized by adult onset, presence of islet auto-antibodies, insulin independence at the time of diagnosis, and rapid decline in β-cell function. The prevalence of LADA among patients with type 2 diabetes varies from 2% to 20% according to the study population. Since most studies on the prevalence of LADA performed in Korea were conducted in patients who had been tested for anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody (GADAb), a selection bias could not be excluded. In this study, we examined the prevalence and clinical characteristics of LADA among adult patients recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We included 462 patients who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within 5 years from the time this study was performed. We measured GADAb, fasting insulin level, fasting C-peptide level, fasting plasma glucose level, HbA1c, and serum lipid profiles and collected data on clinical characteristics. The prevalence of LADA was 4.3% (20/462) among adult patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Compared with the GADAb-negative patients, the GADAb-positive patients had lower fasting C-peptide levels (1.2±0.8 ng/mL vs. 2.0±1.2 ng/mL, P=0.004). Other metabolic features were not significantly different between the two groups. The prevalence of LADA is 4.3% among Korean adult patients with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. The Korean LADA patients exhibited decreased insulin secretory capacity as reflected by lower C-peptide levels.