Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency in Type 1 and 2 Diabetes: Therapeutic Implications

The objective of the present review is to focus on pancreatic exocrine insufficiency that is associated with Type 1 and 2 diabetes, its clinical and therapeutic implications, including the utility and efficacy of pancreatin supplementation. A literature search was conducted on Pubmed / Medline to identify relevant articles using terms pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in diabetes mellitus patients, pathophysiology, prevalence, treatment and management published between 2006-2016 in English language. Meta-analysis has revealed the prevalence of PEI in patients with type-1 and type-2 diabetes mellitus to be 37.7% (CI 27.2-49.5) and 26.2% (CI 19.4-34.3) respectively. Very scanty data are available that evaluates the efficacy of pancreatin in patients with diabetes. In the available studies, pancreatin was found to reduce hypoglycemia in insulin treated patients. Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus is not uncommon and correct use of pancreatin may have a positive effect on the glycemic status of the diabetic patients.