Aims This study aimed to investigate the frequency of islet autoantibody positivity in adult patients with recently diagnosed diabetes in Uganda and its associated characteristics. Methods Autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 (GADA), zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8-A), and tyrosine phosphatase (IA-2A) were measured in 534 adult patients with recently diagnosed diabetes. Islet autoantibody positivity was defined based on diagnostic thresholds derived from a local adult population without diabetes. The socio-demographic, clinical, and metabolic characteristics of islet autoantibody-positive and negative participants were then compared. The differences in these characteristics were analysed using the x2 test for categorical data and the Kruskal Wallis test for continuous data. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify predictors of islet autoantibody positivity. Results Thirty four (6.4%) participants were positive for ≥1 islet autoantibody. GADA, IA-2A and ZnT8-A positivity was detected in 17 (3.2%), 10 (1.9%), and 7 (1.3%) participants, respectively. Compared with those negative for islet autoantibodies, participants positive for islet autoantibodies were more likely to live in a rural area (n = 18, 52.9% Vs n = 127, 25.5%, p = 0.005), to be initiated on insulin therapy (n = 19, 55.9% Vs n = 134, 26.8%, p<0.001), to have a lower median waist circumference (90 [80–99] cm Vs 96 [87–104.8], p = 0.04), waist circumference: height ratio (0.55 [0.50–0.63] vs 0.59 [0.53–0.65], p = 0.03), and fasting C-peptide concentration (0.9 [0.6–1.8] Vs 1.4 [0.8–2.1] ng/ml, p = 0.01). On multivariate analysis, living in a rural area (odds ratio or OR 3.62, 95%CI 1.68–7.80, p = 0.001) and being initiated on insulin therapy (OR 3.61, 95% CI 1.67–7.83, p = 0.001) were associated with islet autoantibody positivity. Conclusion The prevalence of islet autoantibody positivity was relatively low, suggesting that pancreatic autoimmunity is a rare cause of new-onset diabetes in this adult Ugandan population. Living in a rural area and being initiated on insulin therapy were independently associated with islet autoantibody positivity in this study population.
