Background and Objectives:

Diabetes Mellitus is most common endocrine disorder of humans. Various studies pointed towards an increased prevalence of gall bladder diseases in diabetics. This has been attributed to cholecystomegaly and impaired gall bladder contraction, mainly due to autonomic neuropathy seen in diabetics. The cross–sectional study was undertaken to compare gall bladder volume in diabetics with and without autonomic neuropathy.

Materials and Methods:

Eighty patients of Type 2 diabetes mellitus admitted to our hospital were studied.Gall bladder volume was calculated by ultrasonography. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy was assessed clinically by simple noninvasive bed side tests like heart rate variation from supine to standing, heart rate variation to deep breathing, Blood pressure response to standing and to sustained hand grip and blood pressure response to cold pressor test. FBS, PPBS and HbA1c were calculated in all patients.

Results:

In our study mean gall bladder volume in patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy was 30.13±18.73 ml and without diabetic autonomic neuropathy was 18.52±5.01 ml, with a minimum of 12ml and maximum of 68ml.Patients with autonomic neuropathy had a mean duration of DM of 9.38±3.17 years and without autonomic neuropathy had 6.29±1.19 years. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy was seen in those patients with poor glycemic control when compared to those with a good glycemic control.

Conclusion:

It can be concluded that diabetics patients with autonomic neuropathy had higher gall bladder volume than patients without diabetic autonomic neuropathy. Duration of diabetes, glycemic control and age of the patients significantly correlated with increased gall bladder volume.