Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Both endocrine and exocrine pancreatic functions are impacted by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a chronic metabolic disease. Important indicators of pancreatic health, serum lipase and amylase, are frequently changed in type 2 diabetes, but little is known about how anti-diabetic medications affect these enzymes, especially in African populations. In Benin City, Nigeria, this study examined the serum levels of lipase and amylase in T2DM patients taking various antiglycemic medication classes. 50 T2DM patients and 50 age-matched non-diabetic controls were enlisted. Standard enzymatic assays were used to measure the concentrations of serum lipase and amylase, and correlation statistics and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The mean levels of lipase (67.03 ± 6.96 U/L) and amylase (93.19 ± 4.49 U/L) were significantly higher in T2DM patients than in controls (59.56 ± 4.81 U/L and 39.52 ± 3.19 U/L, respectively; p < 0.001). Although these differences were not statistically significant, variation was seen across antiglycemic drug classes, with patients on metformin plus sulfonylureas having the highest amylase levels and those on DPP-4 inhibitors having the highest lipase levels. Exocrine function gradually declined over time, as evidenced by the significant negative correlation between lipase activity and the length of diabetes (r = –0.347, p = 0.014). While lipase was lower in overweight people, demographic factors like age, sex, and BMI had no discernible impact on amylase. In conclusion, this study shows that T2DM is linked to increased pancreatic enzyme levels, with patterns impacted by the length of the disease and, to a lesser degree, anti- glycemic medication. These results emphasise the value of tracking exocrine pancreatic function in the treatment of diabetes and demand more extensive, long-term, population-based research to elucidate the clinical consequences of these changes.