{"id":8115,"date":"2026-02-13T12:03:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.infotekps.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/the-connection-between-epi-and-diabetes\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:03:41","slug":"the-connection-between-epi-and-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.infotekps.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/the-connection-between-epi-and-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Connection Between EPI and Diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>More than 37 million Americans \u2014 or about 11 percent of the population \u2014 have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . If you\u2019re one of them, you might also be at risk for a condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), a digestive disorder in which the pancreas doesn\u2019t produce the enzymes that are needed to properly digest food. According to a review published in April 2020 in the journal Current Diabetes Reports , type 1 and type 2 diabetes commonly occur with mild to moderate EPI. One study cited in this review \u2014 which was itself a meta-analysis \u2014 found that EPI was reported in nearly 39 percent of patients with type 1 diabetes and more than 28 percent in those with type 2 diabetes. While researchers aren\u2019t entirely surely why diabetes can lead to EPI, it\u2019s thought that, in case of type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cells that produce digestive enzymes can become damaged, according to research . The reverse is also true: If you have EPI, you could also be at risk for diabetes. In people who have EPI, the pancreas either isn\u2019t able to produce enough of the enzymes the body needs to break down food in the digestive tract or is blocked, meaning the enzymes that are produced aren\u2019t able to reach the digestive tract. A blockage in the pancreas can also cause partial digestion of the pancreatic tissue itself, which in turn can damage the cells that produce insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. There\u2019s more to the link between diabetes and EPI than proximity, but researchers aren\u2019t exactly sure what it is \u2014 although it sounds a lot like the riddle of the chicken and the egg. \u201cDiabetes can be caused by exocrine disease, and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can be caused by diabetes,\u201d explains Philip D. Hardt , a physician and researcher with the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg in Giessen, Germany, and author of an article on this topic . \u201cBoth are possible.\u201d<br \/>\n Diabetes and Pancreatic Insufficiency: Possible Connections Theories about the relationship between EPI and diabetes include: Diabetes damages pancreatic tissue. Some evidence has shown greater-than-normal amounts of inflammation and damage to pancreatic tissue, suggesting that having diabetes could increase the risk for EPI . \u201cPeople with diabetes have a much greater risk for acute pancreatitis [sudden inflammation of the pancreas] compared to those without diabetes,\u201d says endocrinologist Rita Rastogi Kalyani, MD, MHS , an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and editor-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Guide . Pancreatitis causes diabetes. People who have a bout of acute pancreatitis appear to be at an increased risk for diabetes later on, Dr. Kalyani says, and people with chronic pancreatitis (or long-term inflammation of the pancreas) can also have diabetes. Other pancreatic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and pancreatic cancer , are also associated with diabetes. Both share autoimmune links. In a small number of people, autoimmune dysfunction could cause the development of both pancreatitis and diabetes, according to Dr. Hardt\u2019s report. This area of research is still being explored. Complications of diabetes may lead to EPI. Diabetic neuropathy , a serious complication of diabetes involving nerve damage, may interfere with the signaling of pancreatic cells and neurons that carry out exocrine functions, according to Hardt\u2019s research. Research into all these connections needs to be expanded, Hardt says. Signs and Symptoms of EPI If you have diabetes, these are the signs and symptoms of EPI to be aware of: Abdominal pain that can be either mild or severe Steatorrhea , or fatty, oily stools \u2014 a sign that pancreatic enzymes aren\u2019t getting to your digestive tract to break down fats in the food you eat Weight loss Brittle (labile or unstable) diabetes: Some people with type 1 diabetes find that their blood sugar is extremely hard to control, possibly because the body is digesting carbohydrates poorly or a damaged or inflamed pancreas is undermining their best efforts, Kalyani says. Although these are some of the most common signs of EPI, these symptoms can have other causes as well. In fact, many people with diabetes complain of general stomach problems that don\u2019t necessarily indicate an emergency health situation. Kalyani says that if these are new symptoms for you, you should see your doctor promptly. Additional reporting by Katherine Lee<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 37 million Americans \u2014 or about 11 percent of the population \u2014 have diabetes, according to the Centers &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-8115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Connection Between EPI and Diabetes - Your Daily News Dose of the World\u2019s Hottest Headlines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.infotekps.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/the-connection-between-epi-and-diabetes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Connection Between EPI and Diabetes - 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