Cm. Arino et al., NUTRITIONAL-STATUS ASSESSMENT IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES-MELLITUS SECONDARY TO ALCOHOLIC CHRONIC-PANCREATITIS, Medicina Clinica, 108(10), 1997, pp. 373-376
BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus secondary to alcoholic chronic pancreati
tis (DM-ACP) represents 0.5-2% of all cases of diabetes mellitus (DM)
and shows predominantly symptoms related to malnutrition instead of ca
rdinal clinical signs of diabetes. The aim of this study was to try to
further characterize the features of the malnutrition in patients wit
h pancreatic insufficiency. PATIENTS, MATERIAL AND METHODS: We selecte
d 40 patients (39 males and 1 female) meeting clinical, functional and
morphological diagnostic criteria of DM-ACP which received a nutritio
nal assessment that included estimation on fat and proteic body compar
tments being classified as caloric, proteic or mixed malnutrition. RES
ULTS: 29 patients (72.5%) showed some kind of malnutrition. The most f
requent type was mixed (proteic-caloric) malnutrition found in 19 of t
hem (47.5%), Caloric malnutrition was present in 6 (15%) and mainly pr
oteic in 4 (10%). Only 11 patients with DM-ACP in our series showed a
normal nourishment state. CONCLUSIONS: Large prevalence of mixed malnu
trition in DM-ACP patients may be related to malabsorption of macronut
rients (especially proteins and fat) due to exocrine insufficiency and
misuse of nutrients as a result of the characteristic hypoinsulinemia
showed by these patients.