Decreased prevalence and altered clinical phenotype of systemic sclerosis and other autoimmune connective tissue diseases in type 1 and type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional observational study.

Abstract

Introduction: Evidence has demonstrated that autoimmune diseases tend to coexist at a higher rate than expected, reflecting a common pathogenic pathway. In this study, we investigate the co-occurrence of systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjogren syndrome in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Our data were obtained using the 2019 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, and International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision diagnosis codes were used to identify patients with systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus nephritis, and Sjogren syndrome, as well as patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We utilized Statistical Analysis System 9.4 for all analyses and included designated weight values to produce nationally representative estimates.

Results: The prevalence of systemic sclerosis among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus was significantly lower than that for the non-diabetes mellitus control group (0.0007% vs 0.09%, p-value = 0.0064 and 0.01% vs 0.07%, p-value < 0.0001), respectively. Similarly, there was a significant decrease in the prevalence of systemic sclerosis with lung involvement in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, with a statically significant difference in type 2 diabetes mellitus versus nondiabetic group (0.001% vs 0.006%, p-value < 0.0001). We noted a similar pattern regarding the prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis in patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes. Similarly, there was a significant decrease in the prevalence of Sjogren syndrome in patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Conclusion: The collected data demonstrates an inverse relation between some autoimmune connective tissue diseases and diabetes. This suggests that these diseases and diabetes mellitus may have different immune pathogenesis. There was also a significantly lower incidence of organ complications such as lupus nephritis and systemic sclerosis lung disease among patients with diabetes, suggesting that diabetes and treatment of diabetes may alter the clinical expression of these disorders.