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Does the data indicate that if you have one, the probability of you having the other is higher than that of someone who doesn't have the one?

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Is there a particular reason for you to suspect that this might be the case? – Konrad Rudolph Jul 25 '12 at 19:07
This article ( ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16477262 ) talks about co-occurrence of type 1 diabetes with other autoimmune diseases, but not the autoimmune disease vitiligo. – Pete Jul 25 '12 at 20:45

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It has been associated with polymorphisms with the CD4 gene, which is usually implicated in type I diabetes. The wikipedia article for vitiligo also mentions studies for the NALP1 gene. NALP1 is expressed at high levels in T cells and Langerhan cells, white blood cells that are involved in skin autoimmunity.

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References to papers? If there isn't one on the wiki page with the statements, I would be less than happy to vote this up. Also, if CD4 mutations been found to cause both diseases, is there any observational evidence (epidemiology) you have found whilst reading? It does seem likely they are related as they are both autoimmune diseases of the T-cells, but they may have independent mechanisms of action via CD4 (etc), so disease incidence may not be correlated. – Luke Jul 26 '12 at 16:09

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