October 29, 2001
Other Illnesses
Question from Madison, Wisconsin, USA:
I have fraternal twins, both have autism, and type 1 diabetes, and I have seen a few other people ask questions on this website about a possible link between diabetes and autism. Is there a link? How many children are out there who have both diabetes and autism? Is there some viral insult that occurs that can attack both the islet cells in the pancreas and the brain leading to both diabetes and autism?
Answer:
I have not been able to find any figures for the incidence in childhood of type�1A (autoimmune) diabetes in conjunction with autism. There was a report about two years from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore showing that there was a significantly increased incidence of autoimmune disorders in the families of children with autism, which included type�1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and hypothyroidism amongst others. However, the findings shed no light on the basic cause of autism, and, so far as I know, there is no evidence at all for a joint viral etiology.
DOB
