Introduction & Objective: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (known as EPI or PEI) has a high symptom burden and is present in as many as 3 of 10 PWD. A new symptom tool, the Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Symptom Score (EPI/PEI-SS), has been evaluated in the general population to assess real-world symptom burden in individuals with (n=155) and without (n=169) EPI. A large cohort of PWD were analyzed to evaluate whether diabetes contributes to a difference in EPI/PEI-SS score.
Methods: EPI/PEI-SS scores were analyzed and compared between PWD (n=118), with EPI (T1D: n=14; T2D: n=20) or without EPI (T1D: n=78; T2D: n=6), and people without diabetes (n=206) with and without EPI.
Results: People with diabetes had statistically significant higher mean EPI/PEI-SS scores (102.62 out of 225, SD: 52.46) than did people with diabetes without EPI (33.64, SD: 30.38), irrespective of presence of other GI conditions (all group comparisons p<0.001). T1D and T2D subgroups were similar.
Conclusion: EPI has a high symptom burden, irrespective of diabetes. High scores using the EPI/PEI-SS among people with diabetes can distinguish between EPI and other GI conditions. The EPI/PEI-SS should be further studied as a possible screening method for EPI and assessed as a tool to aid PWD in tracking changes to EPI symptoms over time based on PERT titration.
D.M. Lewis: None.
