The main clinical significance of the triple test for diabetes is that it is used to diagnose autoimmune diabetes, to assist in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, and to predict whether some people at risk will have type 1 diabetes.
Triple antibody tests, including antibodies to glutamate dehydrogenase, insulin, and islet cells, are important immunologic markers for differentiating type 1 diabetes from type 2 diabetes and are important for typing and guiding treatment of diabetes. Some people develop positive diabetes antibodies years before the onset of clinical symptoms, so they are valuable for the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and can also guide clinicians in the early application of insulin therapy, which can delay the progression of the disease and protect the function of the cells of the pancreas.
Relatives of patients with type 1 diabetes also need to be actively tested for the three antibodies to diabetes. The triple test has been made necessary for people with diabetes or those at high risk of developing diabetes.