The Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism and Among Their Relatives

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a series of 205 patients with proven primary hyperparathyroidism was 7.8% (16 patients). Eight patients were known to have diabetes at first attendance (prevalence 3.9%), four were discovered at the time of diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism (combined prevalence 5.9%) and four subsequently. Diabetes had been diagnosed from age 39 yr onwards, and in those with diabetes hyperparathyroidism was diagnosed at age 44 yr or later. The prevalence of diabetes in primary hyperparathyroidism is significantly greater than in a series of 200 consecutive non-hyperparathyroid outpatients attending the same unit (3.0%, p less than 0.05), or in the general populations of Oxford and Poole, after matching for age and sex (p less than 0.05), or in the combined populations of Oxford, Poole, and Southall (white population) (p less than 0.05) after similar matching. However, the prevalence of diabetes in hyperparathyroidism did not differ significantly from that of the white population of Coventry, where the prevalence is higher than that of Oxford, Poole and Southall. For hyperparathyroid patients presenting at age 40 yr or over, the prevalence of known diabetes (4.7%) is significantly greater than in the general populations at similar age of Oxford, Poole, and Southall.