gastrointestinal signs and symptoms among persons with diabetes mellitus

aim : to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and signs among persons with diabetes mellitus in a specialist hospital. background : gastrointestinal symptoms and signs are common among patients with diabetes mellitus. morbidity from patients and methods : in this descriptive, cross-sectional study, subjects from the general population with diabetes (n=200) were recruited for this study. subjects were randomly chosen from patients known to have diabetes, (type iⅈ), attending the diabetes clinic at sina university hospital, in tabriz during 2003. the questionnaire recorded gastrointestinal symptoms among the subject population. results : 91% and 9% of patients had type ii and i diabetes, respectively. sixty seven percent of them had poor controlled diabetes and only 3% had well controlled diabetes. gastrointestinal symptoms and signs were reported in 92% of patients. the common gi symptoms were constipation (59.5 %), followed by bloating (44 %), abdominal pain (31%), dyspepsia (30%), and mass protruding through anus (22.5%). abdominal tenderness on deep palpation was the commonest clinical sign (54%). gi symptoms were more prevalent in subjects aged 60-69 years (97.2%). seventy four percent of patients with gi signs and symptoms had complications such as neuropathy 61.5% and retinopathy associated with neuropathy 38.5%. conclusion : the prevalence of gi symptoms and signs in the population studies was higher than that reported from other populations, and there is a relationship between glycaemic control and complications of diabetes in diabetic subjects.