Comment on Cho et al. Antidiabetic Medications and Mortality Risk in Individuals With Pancreatic Cancer–Related Diabetes and Postpancreatitis Diabetes: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Diabetes Care 2019;42:1675–1683

Abstract

We were interested by the recent article from Cho et al. (1), who reported that mortality was reduced by half in metformin-treated subjects with postpancreatitis diabetes mellitus (PPDM). This information is important: the proportion of type 3c diabetes has long been underestimated as a result of misdiagnosis as type 2 diabetes. PPDM can reach 1.8% of new adult-onset diabetes cases (2) and up to 9.2% among hospitalized patients (3), second in frequency after type 2 diabetes.\n\nCho et al. concluded that metformin monotherapy appeared to be the best front-line treatment in individuals with PPDM, which seems provocative at first sight. Chronic pancreatitis was previously considered the most important cause of type 3c diabetes, …