Ped endo journal scan

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess whether clinically diagnosed type 1 diabetes (T1D) occurring in children and young adults from sub-Saharan Africa is of autoimmune origin and whether the phenotype and genetic susceptibility differ from T1D in other populations. Study Methodology and Results:This was an observational, cross-sectional study (Young-Onset Diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa [YODA]), which included participants from Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa who were of self-reported Black African ethnicity and had been clinically diagnosed with T1D at younger than 30 years of age and treated with insulin.The study included data from Black South African participants from a previous multicenter T1D study.Islet autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA), islet cell antigen-2 (IA-2A), and zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) were analyzed along with assessment of random C-peptide levels.Genetic susceptibility to T1D was assessed using a genetic risk score (GRS).Genetic data were compared to genotype array data from population controls from Uganda, Cameroon, and Black South Africans.The findings from the study were compared with data from participants from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth (SEARCH) study in the USA.The study enrolled 1072 participants, of which 894 were included in the analysis.The median duration of diabetes at the time of study was 5 years (interquartile range [IQR] 2-10), and 440 (49.2%) of 894 participants were female.The median age at diagnosis was 15 years (IQR 11-19), with a body mass index (BMI) of 21.7 kg/m² (19.5-24.1).Most participants (573 [71.6%] of 800) had severe insulin deficiency (plasma C-peptide