Type 2 Diabetes - The Metabolic Syndrome And Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The metabolic syndrome consists of high blood sugar, high blood cholesterol, high blood fats, obesity and high blood pressure. Inflammatory bowel disease consists of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, two conditions involving the large intestine. Researchers in the Department of Gastroenterology, Goztepe Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, set out to discover whether the two conditions could be associated. The results of their work were published in the Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology in the month of November 2011.

Sixty-two participants with Crohn's disease and 115 volunteers with ulcerative colitis were included in the study...

• 34 participants with ulcerative colitis, and


• 11 with Crohn's disease

were found to have the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome was found in 10.3 per cent of the participants under 45 years of age and 55 per cent of those over 45.

Since both the metabolic syndrome and inflammatory disease were studied at the same time, the results show an association but it is not clear which condition might be a risk factor for the other. Anyone with either diagnosis should be aware of the signs and symptoms of the other.

Signs and symptoms of diabetes include:

• unusual hunger or thirst,


• unintended weight loss,


• unusual headaches,


• faintness,


• unusual fatigue,


• blurred vision,


• darkened skin (especially under the arms),


• frequent urination, and


• sores or infections that heal slowly.

Anyone experiencing signs or symptoms should be seen by a family doctor or endocrinologist, a doctor specializing in diseases of the glands.

People with ulcerative colitis can experience:

• rectal bleeding,


• rectal mucous,


• feelings of urgency,


• diarrhea,


• fatigue,


• bloating,


• left-sided pain,


• abdominal cramping,


• unintended weight loss, and


• diarrhea.

Crohn's disease can cause:

• diarrhea,


• abdominal cramping,


• reduced appetite,


• weight loss,


• nausea and vomiting, and


• occasionally bleeding.

Some scientists have suggested the two conditions are simply slightly different presentations of the same disease. A family doctor or gastroenterologist, a specialist working with diseases of the digestive system, can diagnose inflammatory bowel disease.

Type 2 diabetes has traditionally been diagnosed by fasting blood sugar levels. Hemoglobin blood sugar levels could replace fasting blood sugar levels as the diagnostic test of choice.

Inflammatory bowel diseases are diagnosed by colonoscopy, which consists of inserting a tube called a colonoscope in the rectum and viewing the length of the large intestine.

Both conditions can be treated with diet and medications:

• vegan diets are known to be the best kind of diet for people with Type 2 diabetes to follow, and could also be effective for inflammatory bowel disease, although high fiber diets can be irritating.


• exercise is directly beneficial in lowering blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes and is under investigation for inflammatory bowel disease. Since inflammatory bowel disease is at least partly related to stress, exercise could be at least indirectly helpful.