BACKGROUND: The objective of our research was to assess the possible link between diabetes mellitus (DM) and liver cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Wuhan, China.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Individuals with a diagnosis of both liver cirrhosis and chronic HBV infection (n=257), and CHB-only patients (n=514) were matched 1: 2 by age and sex. Demographic, lifestyle, laboratory, and clinical characteristics were reviewed. Univariate and the multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted to investigate the association between DM and HBV-related liver cirrhosis.

RESULTS: The prevalence of DM was higher among CHB patients with liver cirrhosis than in those without liver cirrhosis (22.2% vs. 12.8%, P=0.001), yielding an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 2.317 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.528–3.513. Among them, 87.7% of liver cirrhosis patients were diagnosed with DM before liver cirrhosis diagnosis, yielding an AOR (95% CI) of 2.386 (1.533–3.714). In comparison to patients with a DM duration of 2–5 years, the AOR (95% CI) for those with a DM duration >5 years was 2.073 (0.701–6.132). In DM treatment, the AOR (95% CI) for those treated with insulin was 4.746 (1.329–16.949).

CONCLUSIONS: DM was associated with cirrhosis risk in CHB patients in Wuhan, China.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Hepatitis B, Chronic, Liver Cirrhosis, Risk Factors, Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Case-Control Studies, Hepatitis B virus, Liver Neoplasms, Odds Ratio, Prevalence