Leukocyte antigens and disease: III. Association of HLA-B8 and HLA-BW 15 with insulin-dependent diabetes in three different population groups.

The distribution of 20 HLA antigens in 382 diabetic and 184 control subjects of white, Mexican-American, and black ancestry was studied. In all three populations, the incidence of antigens BB and BW15 was higher in the insulin-dependent diabetics than in the controls. The differences fell short of statistical significance when corrections were made for the number of antigens studied. When the results of previous studies were combined with our own, there was a highly significant association of insulin-dependent diabetes and the antigens BB and BW15 in the white population. It seems highly likely that this association would also hold true for the Mexican-American and the black diabetics if a sufficient number of patients were studied.