DIABETES-MELLITUS IN AN ADULT CYSTIC-FIBROSIS POPULATION

Medical records of 132 patients attending an adult cystic fibrosis (CF ) clinic were analysed to define the prevalence and clinical significa nce of diabetes mellitus (DM) in CF. Eighty four (63.6%) had normal bl ood glucose levels, 30 (22.8%) had hyperglycaemia only during intercur rent illness and 18 (13.6%) had DM. No significant differences were no ted between the diabetic and non-diabetic groups for age, gender, heig ht, weight, body mass index (BMI), forced expiratory volume in one sec ond (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) and pancreatic supplementat ion. Patients with hyperglycaemia during intercurrent illness had sign ificantly lower BMI, FEV1% and FVC% than those with normal blood gluco se levels. Of the diabetics four were managed on diet, three received oral hypoglycaemic agents and eleven were insulin requiring. The preva lence of DM in CF is considerable, severity of CF does not correlate w ith development of overt DM, and CF patients should be screened for DM by an oral glucose tolerance test on reaching adulthood.