Type 1 Diabetes Linked to Pancreatic Cancer Risk

It is well known that people with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of pancreatic cancer, and now it seems that the risk extends to those with type 1 diabetes, researchers report. Type 2 diabetes is associated with being overweight and is caused when the body becomes less responsive to the action of insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes arises, often in childhood, when the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are damaged, usually by an aberrant immune reaction.

To assess the risk of pancreatic cancer in people with type 1 and young-onset diabetes, Dr. Richard J. Stevens and colleagues from the University of Oxford, UK, reviewed findings from nine population-based studies.

The likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer was twice as high in subjects with type 1 or young-onset diabetes as in people without diabetes, the team reports in the British Journal of Cancer.

This increased risk is similar in magnitude to that seen with type 2 diabetes.

Stevens said in an interview that, “There are many theories about the link between diabetes and pancreatic cancer, and "our results help narrow these."

For example, he said, "they rule out a cancer-inducing role of the insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas, because in type 1 diabetes these cells have largely or entirely been destroyed."

Stevens stressed that "people with type 1 diabetes should not be overly concerned about pancreatic cancer." As he explained, "Pancreatic cancer is an extremely rare disease, and twice a tiny risk is still a tiny risk."

People with diabetes "should remain focused on the common complications of diabetes such as heart disease, eye disease and kidney disease, and the many measures — including diet, exercise, and medication — that can be taken to avoid them," Stevens concluded.

British Journal of Cancer, February 2007.

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FACT:

Watching TV Increases Post-Prandial Glucose Levels: The findings highlight the unique deleterious relationship of sedentary behavior. The study examined the associations of television viewing time with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-h postchallenge plasma glucose (2-h PG) levels.  A total of 8,357 adults aged >35 years who were free from diagnosed were evaluated. Measures of FPG and 2-h PG were obtained from an oral glucose tolerance test. Self-reported television viewing time (in the previous week) was assessed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) of insulin sensitivity (HOMA-%S) and ß-cell function (HOMA-%B) were calculated based on fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. Time spent watching television in women was positively associated with 2-h PG, log fasting insulin, but not with FPG. The categories of average hours spent watching television per day (<1.0, 1.0–1.9, 2.0–2.9, 3.0–3.9, and 4.0. The findings highlight the unique deleterious relationship of sedentary behavior (indicated by television viewing time) and glycemic measures independent of physical activity time and adiposity status. These relationships differed according to sex and type of glucose measurement, with the 2-h PG measure being more strongly associated with television viewing.