Evidence that diabetes mellitus favors impaired metabolism of zinc, copper, and selenium in chronic pancreatitis.

Diabetes mellitus, a common complication of chronic pancreatitis, can disturb the metabolism of zinc, copper, and selenium. We analyzed the effects of hyperglycemia, malabsorption, and dietary intake on these factors in 35 men with alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis complicated by insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (CP-D), 12 men with chronic pancreatitis but no diabetes (nondiabetic CP), 25 men with type 1 diabetes mellitus (type 1 DM), and 20 control subjects. Diabetes due to chronic pancreatitis was associated with decreased plasma zinc and selenium concentrations and with increased urinary copper excretion. Of the chronic pancreatitis patients, 17% had low plasma zinc, and 41% of them had low plasma selenium. None of the type 1 diabetic patients had low plasma concentrations of zinc, but 12% of them had a low selenium concentration. Hyperglycemia, as assessed by fasting plasma glucose and by plasma HbAlc, was responsible for the increased zinc excretion and the decreased superoxide dismutase activity. The perturbations of the copper, selenium, and zinc metabolism were particularly pronounced in subjects with chronic pancreatitis plus diabetes mellitus. We have yet to determine whether the differences in trace-element status contribute to the clinical expression of the disease.