Endocrine characteristics and risk factors of type 2 diabetes complicated with gastrointestinal autonomic neuropathy: A single-center retrospective study

To analyze endocrine characteristics and risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) gastrointestinal autonomic neuropathy. A total of 202 patients with T2DM with obesity who were hospitalized at our institute between January 2019 and June 2021 were selected. Based on adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels, 102 patients were placed in the ACTH abnormal group and 100 patients were placed in the non-ACTH abnormal group. Ninety-five healthy adults without diabetes, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, or endocrine system abnormalities who were examined at our hospital during the same period were selected as the control group. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin (FINS), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), ACTH level, body mass index (BMI), and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured to evaluate endocrine characteristics and risk factors. BMI, FPG, FINS, HOMA-IR, TG, TC, and ACTH levels in the abnormal ACTH group were significantly higher than those in the other 2 groups, while BMD was significantly lower than that in the other 2 groups (all P < .05). BMI, FPG, FINS, HOMA-IR, TG, TC, and ACTH in the non-ACTH abnormal group were significantly higher than those in the control group, whereas BMD was significantly lower than that in the control group (all P < .05). The plasma ACTH level in patients with abnormal ACTH levels was significantly positively correlated with BMI, FPG, FINS, HOMA-IR, TG, and TC and negatively correlated with BMD (all P < .05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that BMI, advanced age, FINS, TG, and FPG were risk factors for ACTH abnormalities in patients with diabetes (odds ratio > 1, all P < .05). BMI, advanced age, FINS, TG and FPG are the risk factors of abnormal ACTH in T2DM patients with gastrointestinal autonomic neuropathy.