Association between positive fecal occult blood test and diabetes in a population undergoing health screening.

BACKGROUND: Numerous etiologies are implicated in the complications of diabetes. A link between diabetes and the predisposition to certain cancers, including colon cancer, has been established during the last decade. However, the relationship between fecal occult blood test (FOBT), a screening method used principally for detection of colon cancer, and diabetes has not been explored.

METHODS: We investigated the association of positive FOBT with HbA1c of 5.70-6.49% (prediabetes) and HbA1c of ≥6.5% (diabetes) during health screening of 12,836 Japanese people aged 30-79years (9258 men and 3578 women).

RESULTS: Mean age and HbA1c were significantly higher in the positive (n=1502) than the negative FOBT groups (n=11,334). There were fewer men and current smokers in the positive FOBT group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with HbA1c of ≤5.69%, HbA1c of ≥6.5% was significantly associated with positive FOBT, independently of relevant confounders including age, sex, and past history of gastric/duodenal ulcers and colon cancer or polyp.

CONCLUSION: Current results support a predisposition towards gastrointestinal cancer in diabetics, or may imply the development of diabetes-related gut microangiopathy, which deserves further study including FOBT and clinical diagnosis of the gut.