Type 2 Diabetes, GERD, and Barrett’S Esophagus
New research has shown people with type 2 diabetes could have an elevated risk for Barrett's Esophagus (BE) regardless of other underlying risk factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). A research team unveiled these latest results at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas.
Higher Risk for Men with Type 2 Diabetes
The results of this particular clinical study, titled "Diabetes Mellitus Increases the Risk of Barrett's Esophagus: Results from A Large Population Based Control Case Study", suggests that the risk of Barrett's esophagus (BE) may be almost doubled for type 2 diabetics. Prasad G. Iyer, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine stated that this risk could also be higher among men with diabetes, because they tend to hold more fat around the abdomen than woman do.
Most Commonly Associated with GERD
As you may already know, type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, and it currently accounts for 90% of all known cases. On the other hand, Barrett's esophagus is a medical condition where the lining of the esophagus gets replaced by tissue that is more similar to that which is lining the intestine. While there are no associated signs or symptoms for this medical condition, it is often discovered in people who have been diagnosed with GERD. In fact, GERD clinical studies have shown that about 5 to 10 percent of the people with this disease will eventually develop this illness.
14,245 versus the Control Group
The research team working on this population-based control study used the United Kingdom's General Practice Research Database (GPRD), which is a primary care database that contains information on more than 8 million patients. Utilizing this extensive database, they were able to identify 14,245 cases of Barrett's esophagus compared to the 70,361 without Barrett's esophagus (this became the control group for the clinical study). Participants in this initial group were more likely to have consumed alcohol and smoked than the control group; plus there was a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes amongst these participants before they had been diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus. The research team also found that these 14,245 had a higher mean body mass index (BMI) than the control group both before and throughout the study period.
Determining a Possible Link
Obesity has been linked with a higher risk for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer, but what was unclear for researchers was what caused this apparent association. Did it come from some mechanical and/or metabolic effect like hyperinsulinemia? The lead investigators for this study wanted to see if there was any epidemiologic link between Barrett's esophagus and type 2 diabetes, but first they needed to adjust for other common risk factors such as smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, and GERD.
What they found amongst their study participants was indeed astonishing. Dr. Iyer went on to explain how he was quite surprised to find that these diabetics appeared to be two times as likely to develop Barrett's esophagus. After stratifying the research results by gender, this association appeared to be that much stronger in males than females. As mentioned earlier, this seems to reflect the difference in fat distribution for men and women.
Managing Other Risk Factors
In retrospect, more studies will be needed in order to fully understand this link between Barrett's esophagus and type 2 diabetes (after discounting the presence of GERD). Still, this research has already provided valuable and potentially life-preserving insight for health care providers and other patients. Dealing with weight issues and managing things like GERD should help to lower your risk of esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus. Dr. Iyer suggests that any patients who are overweight or have GERD should talk with their physicians about their risk for this condition. From there, they can decide if they will need to receive further screening like an upper endoscopy.
Higher Risk for Men with Type 2 Diabetes
The results of this particular clinical study, titled "Diabetes Mellitus Increases the Risk of Barrett's Esophagus: Results from A Large Population Based Control Case Study", suggests that the risk of Barrett's esophagus (BE) may be almost doubled for type 2 diabetics. Prasad G. Iyer, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine stated that this risk could also be higher among men with diabetes, because they tend to hold more fat around the abdomen than woman do.
Most Commonly Associated with GERD
As you may already know, type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, and it currently accounts for 90% of all known cases. On the other hand, Barrett's esophagus is a medical condition where the lining of the esophagus gets replaced by tissue that is more similar to that which is lining the intestine. While there are no associated signs or symptoms for this medical condition, it is often discovered in people who have been diagnosed with GERD. In fact, GERD clinical studies have shown that about 5 to 10 percent of the people with this disease will eventually develop this illness.
14,245 versus the Control Group
The research team working on this population-based control study used the United Kingdom's General Practice Research Database (GPRD), which is a primary care database that contains information on more than 8 million patients. Utilizing this extensive database, they were able to identify 14,245 cases of Barrett's esophagus compared to the 70,361 without Barrett's esophagus (this became the control group for the clinical study). Participants in this initial group were more likely to have consumed alcohol and smoked than the control group; plus there was a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes amongst these participants before they had been diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus. The research team also found that these 14,245 had a higher mean body mass index (BMI) than the control group both before and throughout the study period.
Determining a Possible Link
Obesity has been linked with a higher risk for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer, but what was unclear for researchers was what caused this apparent association. Did it come from some mechanical and/or metabolic effect like hyperinsulinemia? The lead investigators for this study wanted to see if there was any epidemiologic link between Barrett's esophagus and type 2 diabetes, but first they needed to adjust for other common risk factors such as smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, and GERD.
What they found amongst their study participants was indeed astonishing. Dr. Iyer went on to explain how he was quite surprised to find that these diabetics appeared to be two times as likely to develop Barrett's esophagus. After stratifying the research results by gender, this association appeared to be that much stronger in males than females. As mentioned earlier, this seems to reflect the difference in fat distribution for men and women.
Managing Other Risk Factors
In retrospect, more studies will be needed in order to fully understand this link between Barrett's esophagus and type 2 diabetes (after discounting the presence of GERD). Still, this research has already provided valuable and potentially life-preserving insight for health care providers and other patients. Dealing with weight issues and managing things like GERD should help to lower your risk of esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus. Dr. Iyer suggests that any patients who are overweight or have GERD should talk with their physicians about their risk for this condition. From there, they can decide if they will need to receive further screening like an upper endoscopy.