The Enigma of Type 3c Diabetes in Chronic Pancreatitis

Abstract

Pancreatogenic or Type 3c diabetes (T3cDM) is relatively a new entry in the complex world of diabetes study. While the general population and physicians are well aware of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as evidenced by numerous study groups and the reams of guide-lines on diagnosis and treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, relatively much less is known, considered and documented about diabetes mellitus that occurs secondary to pancreatic diseases. A casual search of Pubmed reveals less than 100 entries on type 3c diabetes. This may be because physicians earlier considered type 3c diabetes to be of rare occurrence and thus a condition rarely considered in everyday practice. Yet, recent data on type 3c diabetes (T3cDM) showed that it might be more common than generally thought. Studies also propose that this clinically important condition might be consistently under and misdiagnosed in routine clinical practice.