Alcohol-associated diabetes mellitus. A review of the impact of alcohol consumption on carbohydrate metabolism
L. Greenhouse and C. K. Lardinois
Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Reno, USA.
Most cases of diabetes mellitus result from decreased insulin secretion
(type I, insulin-dependent) or altered insulin action (type II,
insulin-independent). Another category, namely, "other" diabetes
mellitus-associated conditions, is usually mentioned to distinguish this
type of diabetes from the other two categories; this category includes
drugs, genetic and endocrine syndromes, and pancreatic disorders. The most
common pancreatic disease that causes diabetes mellitus is chronic
pancreatitis that results from alcohol abuse. The clinical observation of
patients at our institution with long histories of heavy alcohol intake and
diabetes mellitus prompted us to review the impact of alcohol on
carbohydrate metabolism. In many of these patients, it was notable that
they were not obese and they had no immediate family members with diabetes
mellitus, raising the possibility that alcohol-associated diabetes mellitus
may be a distinct subset of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus that is
distinct from type II diabetes mellitus.
