Context: Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is a group of inflammatory thyroid disorders with either hyperthyroid, euthyroid or hypothyroid state. The aim of this study is to detect the subclinical thyroiditis among type 1 diabetic patients and to study the correlation of the thyroid antibodies to duration of diabetes. The study problem was that the modes of association between DM and thyroid diseases are more complex and unclear. Aims: This study was carried out to evaluate the associations between thyroiditis and duration of diabetes mellitus. The importance of the study was that the thyroid diseases affect approximately 10-15% of patients with diabetes mellitus whereas in non-diabetics the prevalence is approximately 6%.Settings and Design: A case- control and hospital- based analytical study was conducted from January 2015 to November 2017. Methods: Two hundred and five Sudanese children with T1DM were selected as test group and 100 apparently healthy volunteers as controls both groups were age and sex matched. In all participants, the following antibodies were surveyed: Anti‑glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti‑GAD), thyroglobin antibodies (TG), HbA1c (%) and TSH. Statistical Analysis Used: The quantitative variables were expressed as a mean and standard deviation and the qualitative variables incontinency tables. Student’s t‑test and 2 tests were used to assess the differences between the groups. The level of significance was established as P < 0.05. Results: means of serum levels of anti GAD, anti TG, HbA1c & TSH were statistically significant increased in diabetic patients in compression to controls (8.86±9.233) versus (3.00±1.40),p=0.00 (6.49±8.80) versus (2.70±1.26), p=0.00,( 12.42±1.99) versus (5.39±0.37) p=0.00, (2.25±0.98) versus (2.06±1.10) p=0.04 respectively also these was strong correlation between (anti GAD and anti TG) and duration of diabetes (r 0. 54 ,p=0.00), (0. 59 p=0.00) respectively. Conclusions: Serum level of TSH and HbA1c are important tests for monitoring diabetic patients with thyroid disorders. Early detection of auto antibodies (TG antibodies and GAD antibodies) provides a prognostic value for the prediction of autoimmune thyroiditis in type I diabetes mellitus children and the duration of disease should be consider.
