To investigate and compare the prevalence, associations, and severity of retinopathy and nephropathy in patients with pancreatic diabetes (PD) and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).
Thirty patients with PD due to alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis were matched for age, sex, and duration of diabetes with 30 patients with IDDM. Retinopathy was assessed by fluorescein angiography using the Wisconsin classification. Renal function was assessed by albumin excretion rates (AERs) in at least two timed overnight urine collections and glomerular filtration rates (GFRs) by single injection of 51Cr-EDTA. Microalbuminuria was defined as AER 20–200 μg/min and nephropathy as AER > 200 μg/min.
Retinopathy was found in 33% of patients with PD and in 40% with IDDM. The spectrum of disease was similar in the two groups. The geometric mean of AER was 15 μg/min (range 1–1,541) in the PD group and 24 μg/min (2–2,288) in the IDDM group. Nephropathy was found in 7 PD and in 5 IDDM patients, and a reduced GFR was present in 8 (26%) and 4 (13%) of the two groups, respectively. Microalbuminuria occurred in 9 (33%) and hyperfiltration in 3 (10%) in each group. These differences were insignificant. Retinopathy correlated with AER in both groups. Retinopathy and AER correlated with duration of diabetes in the IDDM but not in the PD group.
Microvascular complications are equally common and severe in PD and IDDM, and improved glycemic control should be the goal in both.
