The prevalence of pancreatic enzyme insufficiency in type 1 and type 2 diabeticpatients

Objective:Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) is a common clinical entity in diabetic patients. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of PEI in Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients whom are followed up in Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine the Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinic for at least 5 years and to evaluate the relationship between demographic, clinical and laboratory tests and diabetic complications. Patients and methods: Stool samples were obtained from 182 type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients who are followed in Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinic. Fecal elastase-1 (FE1) concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to detect PEI. Results: The mean age of the patients was 55,7 ± 12,9 years. Of the patients in the study, 18.2% (n: 33) were type 1 and 81.8% (n: 149) were type 2 diabetes mellitus. PEI was detected in 18.1% of the patients (n: 33). The frequency of PEI was 21.2% (n: 7) and 17.4% (n: 26) in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, respectively. Cardiovascular complication rate (CV) was founded to be increased in PEI group compared to patients with normal pancreatic exocrine function (OR:2,57 (CI %95 1,15-5,76; p=0,021)). Conclusions: PEI is not rare in diabetic patients. Patients should be evaluated for PEI when they are diagnosed for diabetes mellitus and during their follow-up period. Patients who have CV complications due to diabetes, should be evaluated for PEI comprehensively. Large- scale, randomized and controlled long-term prospective studies are required to understand the relationship between PEI and diabetes mellitus.