OBJECTIVETo investigate the diagnostic efficacy of glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody (GAD65-Ab) and islet cell antibody (ICA) in type I diabetes mellitus.METHODS104 cases of type I diabetes mellitus and 102 normal controls were recruited, GAD65-Ab was determined with radioligand assay and ICA with ELISA. The diagnostic efficacy of GAD65-Ab and ICA was analysed by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve with sensitivity, specificity and curve area.RESULTS(1) The optimal cut-off point of GAD65-Ab was at 0.30, while that of ICA was at 0.45. The area under the curve of GAD65-Ab and ICA were 0.835 and 0.715 respectively. Compared with 0.5, the area under curve of GAD65-Ab and ICA was higher (P < 0.0001). The area under curve of GAD65-Ab was higher than that of ICA(P < 0.01). (2) In type I diabetes mellitus patients, the positivity of GAD65-Ab was not correlated to the age of onset and duration of the disease, while the positivity of ICA was correlated to the age of onset and duration.CONCLUSIONType I diabetes mellitus can be diagnosed with GAD65-Ab and ICA. The diagnostic efficacy of GAD65-Ab is higher than that of ICA. In patients of type I diabetes mellitus with adult-onset and duration more than one year, the diagnostic efficacy of GAD65-Ab is higher than that of ICA, while in patients of type I diabetes mellitus with adolescent-onset and duration less than one year, the diagnostic efficacy of ICA is higher than that of GAD65-Ab.