Coexisiting type 1 diabetes and celiac disease is associated with lower Hba1c when compared to type 1 diabetes alone: data from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network (ADDN) registry

Aim: To compare HbA1c and clinical outcomes in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), with or without celiac disease (CD). 

Methods: Longitudinal data were extracted from ADDN, a prospective clinical diabetes registry. Inclusion criteria were T1D (with or without CD), ≥ 1 HbA1c measurement, age 16–25 years and diabetes duration ≥ 1 year at last measurement. Multivariable Generalised Estimated Equation models were used for longitudinal analysis of variables associated with HbA1c. 

Results: Across all measurements, those with coexisting T1D and CD had lower HbA1c when compared to those with T1D alone (8.5 ± 1.5% (69.4 ± 16.8 mmol/mol) vs. 8.7 ± 1.8% (71.4 ± 19.8 mmol/mol); p < 0.001); lower HbA1c was associated with shorter diabetes duration (B = − 0.06; 95% CI − 0.07 to − 0.05; p < 0.001), male sex (B = − 0.24; − 0.36 to − 0.11; p < 0.001), insulin pump therapy use (B = − 0.46; − 0.58 to − 0.34; p < 0.001), coexistence of T1D and CD (B = − 0.28; − 0.48 to − 0.07; p = 0.01), blood pressure (B = − 0.16; − 0.23 to − 0.09; p < 0.001) and body mass index (B = -− 0.03; − 0.02 to − 0.04; p = 0.01) in the normal range. At last measurement, 11.7% of the total population had a HbA1c < 7.0% (53.0 mmol/mol). 

Conclusions: Across all measurements, coexisting T1D and CD is associated with lower HbA1c when compared to T1D alone. However, HbA1c is above target in both groups.