A cross-sectional study published in the ‘Journal of Diabetes Research’ determined the association of systemic inflammation, diabetic autoantibodies, and islet β cell dysfunction with the progression of macrovascular complications in patients with autoimmune diabetes.

      202 patients with autoimmune diabetes aged ≥ 35 years and were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into three groups based on the severity of peripheral atherosclerosis. Biomarkers of systemic inflammation, diabetes autoantibodies, islet β cell function, and other covariates validated to be associated with macrovascular complications were collected. Correlations between the severity of peripheral atherosclerosis and systemic inflammation, diabetic autoantibodies, and islet β cell function were analyzed using an ordinal logistic regression model.

      Of the enrolled patients, 58 patients had no lesions in the peripheral arteries, 72 had atherosclerosis in the carotid or lower extremity arteries, and the rest had lesions in both arteries. The findings from the multifactor ordinal logistic regression test revealed that positive islet cell cytoplasmic antibody (ICA) and long-term use of lipid-lowering agents were independently associated with peripheral atherosclerosis after adjusting for age and diabetes duration.

      The association between atherosclerosis and positive ICA implies that early-stage inflammation contributes to macrovascular problems in autoimmune diabetes. Considering the link between atherosclerosis and long-term lipid-lowering medication use, people with autoimmune diabetes may benefit from early dyslipidaemia screening and treatment.