Since type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune destruction of pancreatic tissue, sometimes insulin antibody measurements are used to gain more information about a type 1 diabetic. Screening for presymptomatic type 1 diabetes may be done by detecting insulin- or other islet-autoantibodies. Having multiple confirmed islet autoantibodies is a risk factor for clinical diabetes. There are three stages of type 1 diabetes. In Stage 1, multiple islet autoantibodies must be present as part of the diagnostic criteria. In Stage 2, islet autoantibodies (can be multiple) should be present as well as other diagnostic criteria (e.g., FPG 100–125 mg/dL). Stage 3 may not have autoantibodies present and instead, diabetes is diagnosed through standard criteria.
Standardized islet autoantibody tests are now recommended for the classification of diabetes in adults who have risk factors that overlap with type 1 diabetes (e.g., unintentional weight loss, ketoacidosis, short time to insulin treatment).
