Familial autoimmunity in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its associations with the severity of clinical presentation at diabetes diagnosis and with coexisting autoimmunity.

Familial autoimmunity was present in 62.8% of children with T1D, autoimmune thyroiditis and T1D being the two most frequent familial autoimmune diseases. Familial autoimmunity reduced the risk of DKA at diagnosis, but these patients were younger and had higher levels of pancreatic autoantibodies and a greater risk of developing additional autoimmune diseases.