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Relationship between type 1 diabetes and atopic diseases in a twin population
Author(s) -
Thomsen S. F.,
Duffy D. L.,
Kyvik K. O.,
Skytthe A.,
Backer V.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2010.02517.x
Subject(s) - atopic dermatitis , hay fever , medicine , asthma , type 2 diabetes , diabetes mellitus , population , atopy , odds ratio , type 1 diabetes , twin study , dermatology , immunology , endocrinology , heritability , genetics , biology , environmental health
To cite this article: Thomsen SF, Duffy DL, Kyvik KO, Skytthe A, Backer V. Relationship between type 1 diabetes and atopic diseases in a twin population. Allergy 2011; 66 : 645–647. Abstract Aim: To study the association between type 1 diabetes and atopic diseases in a twin population. Methods: We performed record linkage between questionnaire‐defined atopic dermatitis, asthma and hay fever, and hospital discharge diagnoses of type 1 diabetes in 54 530 Danish twins, 3–71 years of age. Results: The age‐ and sex‐adjusted risk of atopic dermatitis was decreased in subjects with type 1 diabetes compared with nondiabetic subjects, (2.1% vs 9.9%), odds ratio (OR) = 0.23 (0.07–0.71), P = 0.011, whereas asthma and hay fever were not significantly associated with type 1 diabetes. Within twin pairs discordant for type 1 diabetes, the diabetic twin had a lower risk of atopic dermatitis relative to the nondiabetic co‐twin. Genetic factors for atopic dermatitis and type 1 diabetes were negatively correlated ( r = −0.30), P = 0.0009. Conclusions: These findings substantiate the Th1 vs Th2 cell dichotomy for type 1 diabetes and atopic dermatitis, and indicate an inverse association between genetic factors for these disorders.