Gastrointestinal symptom prevalence depends on disease duration and gastrointestinal region in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Figure 3 Relationships between various parameters and gastrointestinal symptoms involving each gastrointestinal region (“Heartburn” for esophagus, “Gastralgia” and “Postprandial Fullness” for upper abdomen, and “Constipation” and “Diarrhea” for lower abdomen). Bars: White indicates the absence and black the presence of each parameter. The percentages of subjects with a score of 5 or higher, for each GI region, considered to be sufficiently symptomatic to cause impaired quality of life, are shown. ^aP < 0.05, significant difference between presence and absence of each parameter, as analyzed by Fisher’s exact test. A: Comparison between subjects with and without diabetic microangiopathy. The indicated percentages were obtained by dividing the number of subjects with a score of 5 or higher by the total number of patients in the same group (with or without diabetic microangiopathy); B: Comparisons between groups of patients with and without antidiabetic agent administration; C: Comparisons between groups of patients with and without antithrombotic or anti-inflammatory agents. ‘Others’ includes other antithrombotic agents such as prostaglandin E1 derivatives, prostaglandin I2 derivatives, or ethyl esters of eicosapentaenoic acid; D: Comparisons between groups of patients with and without GI agents. αGI: Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors; DAN: Diabetic autonomic neuropathy; DPP-4i: Dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 inhibitor; DSP: Distal symmetric polyneuropathy; GI: Gastrointestinal; GLP-1: Glucagon-like peptide-1; NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; SU: Sulphonyl urea; TZD: Thiazolidinedione.