Comparison of patient characteristics between East Asian and non-East Asian patients with insulin autoimmune syndrome.

Objective: Insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS) is the third most common cause of spontaneous hypoglycaemia in Japan but very rare in the rest of the world. We aimed to identify factors, which are associated with the occurrence of IAS and which may differ between East Asian and non-East Asian patients.

Design: A PubMed search using the search terms 'insulin autoimmune syndrome' and 'Hirata disease' revealed a total of 287 reports of IAS cases, including one previously unpublished own case.