BACKGROUND Heavy alcohol drinking negatively influences the self-care of diabetics requiring strict management of their lifestyle. However, related studies on the clinical interventions for diabetics with alcohol drinking problems are rare. Thus, the relationship between alcohol drinking problems and self-care of male diabetics was studied, and the physician's recognition of the drinking problems also evaluated. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 88 middle-aged male diabetics. They were selected from 4 general hospitals between Nov. 2001 and Feb. 2002. The subjects' alcohol drinking problems and degree of diabetes self-care were examined. Their charts were also reviewed for the physician's recognition of diabetic' alcohol related drinking problems. RESULT: Among the subjects, 53.4% were categorized as problem drinkers and 26% as alcohol dependent. Furthermore, 67.5% of diabetics with drinking problems had their alcohol drinking problems recognized by the physician. The mean self-care among diabetics with and without alcohol drinking problems were 15.0. The mean self-care among diabetics without alcohol drinking problems was 20.6(p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, the importance of educator's sensitivity to diabetics' drinking problems and the use of screening tools to find alcohol drinking problems at an early stage have been highlighted. Further studies on the development of new program are suggested in order to effectively intervene in diabetics with alcohol drinking problems.
BACKGROUND Some of the characteristic features of diabetes mellitus in Korea are that 70-80% of patients are non-obese or adult-onset type, and type 1 diabetes is very rare. Occasionally, autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase(GAD) are found in typical, type 2 diabetes mellitus patients(T2DM). The role of the autoantibody to GAD in T2DM is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical and biochemical characteristics between GAD-positive and GAD-negative non-obese, adult-onset diabetics in Korea. METHODS: A cohort of 428 type 2 diabetes patients was included. The measured autoantibodies to GAD were measured, and the C-peptide and HbA1c levels, anthropometric data(weight, height, body mass index and waist circumference), blood pressure and lipid profiles compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared to the antibody-negative group(n=374; 87.4%), patients with the anti-GAD antibody(n=54; 12.6%) had significantly lower C-peptide levels and were significantly younger. The anti GAD-positive group had a lower BMI, more frequently needed insulin supplements, and a lower prevalence of hypertension. There were no significant differences in gender and family history of diabetes between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The presence of the autoantibody to GAD allowed the group with more deteriorated beta-cell function and more frequent need for insulin supplements, but a lower prevalence of obesity and hypertension to be determined.