Type 1 Diabetes and Autism

The prevalence of diabetes in children and youth <18 years of age is ∼1 in 400–500 (1). The prevalence of diabetes for those aged <19 years from 1995–2000 in Ontario was 1.87 per 1,000 (2). Type 1 diabetes is recognized as a T-cell–mediated autoimmune process with a strong genetic contribution (3,4). In 2003, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder was reported in one study as 3.4 per 1,000 children (5) and in another as 6.7 per 1,000 children (4 per 1,000 children with autism) aged 3–10 years (6) in the U.S. Like type 1 diabetes, both immune-mediated and genetic factors have been implicated in the development of autism (7,8). Based on recent clinical experiences and on the putative autoimmune etiology of these two conditions, we hypothesized that there would be an increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in a population of children with type 1 diabetes. To investigate this hypothesis, a retrospective chart review of nearly …