DIAGNOSIS OF ENDOCRINE DISEASE: Prevalence of hypercortisolism in type 2 diabetes patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Cushing’s syndrome (CS) share clinical characteristics, and several small studies have recorded a high prevalence of hypercortisolism in T2D, which could have therapeutic implications. We aimed to assess the prevalence of endogenous hypercortisolism in T2D patients. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Methods A search was performed in SCOPUS, MEDLINE, and EMBASE for original articles assessing the prevalence of endogenous hypercortisolism and CS in T2D. Data were pooled in a random-effect logistic regression model and reported with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Fourteen articles were included, with a total of 2827 T2D patients. The pooled prevalence of hypercortisolism and CS was 3.4% (95% CI: 1.5–5.9) and 1.4% (95 CI: 0.4–2.9) respectively. The prevalence did not differ between studies of unselected patients and patients selected based on the presence of metabolic features such as obesity or poor glycemic control (P = 0.41 from meta-regression). Imaging in patients with hypercortisolism (n = 102) revealed adrenal tumors and pituitary tumors in 52 and 14% respectively. Conclusions Endogenous hypercortisolism is a relatively frequent finding in T2D, which may have therapeutic implications.