Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of diabetes mellitus
(DM) among cirrhotic inpatients with different etiologies and the impact of DM on
the prognosis of these patients. Methods: A retrospective study of the
association between DM and cirrhosis was performed on 672 cirrhotic inpatients
at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 1, 2012
to March 1, 2013. Data were assessed using SPSS 20.0. Results: The DM prevalences
involving different etiologies were 45.08%, 40.43%, 42.85%, 41.67%, and 25.56%
among 672 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, cryptogenic cirrhosis,
schistosomiasis, chronic hepatitis C, and chronic hepatitis B, respectively.
Multivariate analysis indicated that relative to non-diabetic patients, patients
with DM were older (OR 2.83, 95% CI 2.78 - 2.87, p < 0.001), had higher white blood cell levels (OR 3.01, 95% CI 2.83
- 3.22, p = 0.001) and were more frequently
Child-Pugh class C (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.14 - 1.55, p < 0.001); these differences were also statistically significant
in univariate analysis. Univariate analysis suggested that the presence of DM
was associated with a higher international normalized ratio (p = 0.013), a higher incidence of
hepatic encephalopathy (p = 0.014), and
a more frequent incidence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (p < 0.001). Conclusion: DM is
extremely common among cirrhotic patients and is particularly prevalent among alcoholic
cirrhosis patients in the examined region of China. The presence of DM in
cirrhotic patients was strongly associated with an elevated Child-Pugh score
and an accelerated progression of cirrhosis.