BACKGROUND

Addison's disease may present with recurrent hypoglycaemia in subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus. There are no data, however, on the prevalence of Addison's disease presenting with recurrent hypoglycaemia in patients with diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

Three year retrospective study of diabetic patients with "unexplained" recurrent hypoglycaemia investigated with a short Synacthen test to exclude adrenocortical insufficiency.

RESULTS

95 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus were studied. Addison's disease was identified as the cause of recurrent hypoglycaemia in one patient with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSION

Addison's disease is a relatively rare but remedial cause of recurrent hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. A low threshold for investigating patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and recurrent hypoglycaemia to detect Addison's disease is therefore suggested.