DIAGNOSIS OF LATENT AUTOIMMUNE DIABETES IN ADULTS (LADA).

Aims & Objectives: To study the prevalence of LADA in Diabetic patients. To study the association of GAD -65 antibodies as marker in the diagnosis of LADA. Methods: we studied 41 persons aged between 18 to 45 years diagnosed as type 2 Diabetes by FPG>126mg/dl and C-peptide >0.6 ng/ml. Results: 14.6% type 2 Diabetic individuals were GAD- 65 antibody positive. 4 were males and 2 were females. 83.3% of GAD-65 antibody positive diabetes individuals had BMI <25 kg/sqmt and age of onset of diabetes <45 years. Conclusions—Prevalence of GAD antibody positivity is 14.6% in type 2 Diabetes individuals. It is necessary to test for GAD antibodies as early insulin therapy can be initiated to prevent further beta cell damage in LADA patients. This study done in one centre so it gives only an approximate prevalence of LADA in diabetes. It is necessary to do a large multicentre study all over India to find out the exact prevalence of LADA.