Since the prevalence of gallstones is higher in diabetics than in controls and since cholelithiasis is often associated with supersaturated bile, we measured bile lipid composition and bile acid pool size in 8 patients with juvenile diabetes, 16 with maturity-onset diabetes, and 10 control subjects. Bile lipid composition was expressed as
saturation index.
In the maturity-onset diabetics the saturation index (1.60:±0.45
SDM) was significantly higher (P<0.005) than="" that="" in="" the="" controls="" (0.82±0.20)="" and="" in="" patients="" with="" juvenile="" diabetes="" (0.75±0.24).="" the="" absolute="" values="" for="" biliary="" bile="" acid="" concentration="" were="" significantly="" lower=""><0.01) in="" the="" maturity-onset="" diabetics="" than="" in="" the="" other="" two="" groups.="" there="" were="" no="" differences="" in="" either="" the="" proportion="" of="" the="" individual="" biliary="" bile="" acids="" or="" the="" size="" of="" the="" bile="" acid="" pool="" between="" the="" three="" groups.="" the="" results="" suggest="" that="" the="" incidence="" of="" cholelithiasis="" in="" diabetes="" is="" associated="" with="" the="" secretion="" of="" a="" supersaturated="" bile="" only="" in="" the="" maturity-onset="">
Part of this work was presented at the eleventh meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, August 25–27, 1976, Copenhagen, Denmark.
This work was been supported by the grant 203/76.01370.04/115.0820 of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche.