Pancreatic volume in type 1 und type 2 diabetes mellitus

We measured pancreatic volume (PV) using helical computed tomography (CT) in 26 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), 29 patients with type 2 DM, and 22 healthy individuals. We also evaluated the relationship between PV and the body surface area (BSA), established the pancreatic volume index (PVI) by dividing PV by BSA to correct PV for the body build, and examined its relationships with the duration of illness, serum C-peptide immunoreactivity level (CPR), and serum immunoreactive trypsin level (IRT). BSA and PV were correlated significantly (p<0.0001, r=0.645) in healthy individuals, and they were correlated also in the diabetic patients, (p=0.0023, r=0.563 in type 1 DM; p=0.0346, r=0.392 in type 2 DM). PV was significantly smaller in the type 1 DM group than in the healthy group and type 2 DM group (p<0.001 for both). PVI was also significantly smaller in the type 1 DM group than in the healthy group and type 2 DM group p<0.001 for both). PVI and IRT were significantly correlated in both DM groups (p<0.0001, r=0.732 in type 1 DM; p=0.0469, r=0.731 in type 2 DM). PVI was not correlated with the duration of illness or CPR. Helical CT was useful for the measurement of the pancreatic volume, and the pancreatic volume was reduced particularly in the patients with type 1 DM. A strong correlation was observed between PV and exocrine pancreatic function in type 1 DM, but the correlation between PV and exocrine pancreatic function was weak in type 2 DM. Received: February 2001 / Accepted in revised form: July 2001