Researchers don't agree on the extent of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in people with diabetes. While some have reported increased GI symptoms, others dispute such findings.

For example, English and German researchers recently reported that they, like others, documented increased GI symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea, loose stools, urgency, incontinence and the diarrhea symptom complex in people with type 2 diabetes. They found no association between diabetes and other GI symptoms including bloating, heartburn, vomiting and difficulty swallowing.

However, when they adjusted the data to account for a history of GI disease and the presence of cardiovascular disease, they found only nausea and incontinence remained significantly associated with diabetes. The investigators also reported that abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting were associated with use of oral antidiabetic drugs, particularly with metformin and acarbose.

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Source:  Icks A, Haastert B, Rathmann W et al. Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes: a population-based study. Archives of Internal Medicine, May 13, 2002;162.