
March 10, 2002
Genetics and Heredity
Question from Stony Point, New York, USA:
My four year old nephew was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and while there is no history of diabetes on either side of his family, there is a high incidence of thyroid problems on both sides. Is there any correlation between the two?
Answer:
Some diseases are more common if you have type 1 diabetes. Celiac disease, Addison’s disease, thyroid disorders, and type 1 diabetes are examples of so-called autoimmune disorders. Because type 1 diabetes is in part a disease with genetic predisposition to autoimmune disfunction, it is also more common both for the person with diabetes and other family members to have other autoimmune diseases as happens in your family for thyroid diseases.
MS