Is there an association between positive Strongyloides stercoralis serology and diabetes mellitus?

• Published in: Acta tropica 2006-08, Vol.99 (1), p.102-105
• Main Authors: Mendonça, Suzan C.L., Gonçalves-Pires, Maria do Rosário F., Rodrigues, Rosângela M., Ferreira, Álvaro, Costa-Cruz, Julia M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Animals; Antibodies, Helminth - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus - blood; Diabetes Mellitus - parasitology; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Diabetic; Diagnosis; Diseases caused by nematodes; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Eosinophils - cytology; Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance; Feces - parasitology; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; General aspects; Glycated Hemoglobin A - metabolism; Helminthic diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Leukocyte Count; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Parasitic diseases; Strongyloides stercoralis; Strongyloides stercoralis - growth & development; Strongyloidiasis; Strongyloidiasis - blood; Strongyloidiasis - complications; Strongyloidiasis - parasitology; Strongyloidosis
• ISSN: 0001-706X; 1873-6254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2006.06.006

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of association between positive Strongyloides stercoralis serology and diabetes mellitus. A total of 78 diabetic patients and 42 controls were evaluated. For a parasitological diagnosis, Baermann and Hoffman et al.'s methods were applied. The immunological diagnosis involved the indirect fluorescence antibody test, ELISA and Western blotting to detect IgG antibodies. The frequency of positive S. stercoralis serology in diabetics was 23% versus 7.1% in the control group ( P < 0.05). The odds ratio for diabetics was 3.9 (CI, 1.6–15.9, P < 0.05). Diabetic patients with HbA 1c ≤ 7 had a greater chance of testing negatively for S. stercoralis infection (OR: 1.5, P > 0.05). Provided there are related cases of disseminated strongyloidiasis in diabetics and there is a higher frequency of asymptomaticity of the infection in this group, the immunological screening of these patients at risk could prevent severe and fatal outcomes of the disease.