Diabetes and Gastric Cancer Risk.

This retrospective cohort study evaluated the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and gastric cancer incidence in 195,312 adult men and women who underwent upper endoscopy between 2003 and 2014. The prevalence of DM at baseline was 3.0%. During the follow-up period, 198 participants developed gastric cancer. The study found that DM was independently associated with an increased gastric cancer incidence, with a fully adjusted hazard ratio of 1.76. This association did not differ based on the presence of intestinal metaplasia. The results suggest that patients with DM may require more intensive endoscopic follow-up for gastric cancer screening.

Yang, H., et.al. Gastric Cancer (2020) 23:382–390.

 Or maybe, as physicians we should explain to patients that they don’t have to be diabetic at all.  Sometimes tough love is needed to explain that things need to change if people want change and hope to prevent these horrific outcomes. We should explain that although transforming their diet may seem impossible, it can and must be done.  We are promoting low carbohydrate intake, while also considering optimizing and balancing one’s hormones as a means of taking control of your current course and landing in a healthy place.

Jason & Rita