Preexisting Diabetes and Risks of Morbidity and Mortality After Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of surgical mortality and morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) undergoing a gastrectomy for gastric cancer (GC). Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 6284 patients who underwent gastrectomy for GC from 1999 to 2010. In addition, we created a non-DM control cohort consisting of 6268 patients who received gastrectomy during the same period. Compared with the non-DM cohort, the DM cohort exhibited a higher prevalence of preoperative coexisting medical conditions, namely hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, stroke, and cirrhosis. The odds ratio (OR) of 30-day postoperative mortality after gastrectomy in the DM cohort was 1.04 (95% confidence interval 0.78-1.40) after we adjusted for covariates. The DM cohort did not exhibit a significantly higher risk of 30-day postoperative morbidities. Further analysis revealed that only patients with a history of a DM-related coma exhibited a higher risk of 30-day postoperative mortality (adjusted OR 2.46, 95% confidence interval 1.10 - 5.54). Moreover, the risk of 90-day postoperative mortality was significantly higher in patients with DM-related eye involvement, coma, peripheral circulatory disease, and renal manifestations, in comparison with the non-DM cohort. The risk of 90-day mortality after gastrectomy for GC is higher in patients with DM-related manifestations than those without DM.