Prevalence of Thyroid Autoimmunity among Type 2 Diabetes Moroccan subjects: A Retrospective study

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing concern in the general Moroccan population and often associated with common endocrine disorders particularly thyroid dysfunction. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of T2D and the thyroid autoimmunity (TDI) in Moroccan subjects. A retrospective study was conducted between January 2012 and December 2018. We collected data from 52 diabetic patients and 71 non-diabetic subjects (controls). Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxin (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), and thyroglobulin antibodies (TGAb) levels were measured using Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (CT) concentrations were determined using dry chemistry method. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography principle.  Among 52 diabetic subjects, 23 (44.2.8%) were positives for thyroid antibodies.  The TPOAb mean did not differ significantly between diabetic and control individuals  (24.51 ± 8.22 vs. 13.27 ± 3.72, p=0.167). However, regarding the TgAb level a significant difference was observed in T2D (20.32 ± 4.94 vs. 8.51 ± 2.59, p = 0.004) compared to subjects without diabetes. Hypothyroidism was reported in 52 diabetic patients (44.23%) and (50.7%) in non-diabetic subjects. The analysis of multiple logistic regressions indicated that high risk of TDI in diabetic patients   was not related to diabetes, sex, age, or status of dyslipidemia. Our data revealed no significant association between T2D and TDI disorders in Moroccan subjects. However, further studies on a large sample are needed to confirm these findings.