Steroid-Induced Diabetes : Is It Just Unmasking of Type 2 Diabetes?

Aims. We compared the demographic profile and clinical characteristics of individuals with new onset steroid-induced diabetes (NOSID) to Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients with and without steroid treatment. Methods. The demographic profile and clinical characteristics of 60 individuals who developed NOSID were examined and matched to 60 type 2 diabetes patients receiving steroid therapy (T2DM+S) and 360 diabetic patients not on steroids (T2DM) for age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, gender, and ethnicity. Results. Patients who developed NOSID had less family history of diabetes (P≤0.05) and were less overweight (P≤0.02). NOSID was more commonly treated with insulin. Despite a matching duration of diabetes and glycaemic control, significantly less retinopathy was found in the group of patients with NOSID (P