Absent Risk of Dysglycemia after Bacterial Gastroenteritis

BACKGROUND:Diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) may be complicated by acute and long-term insulin deficiency. However, the glycemic consequences of acute bacterial gastroenteritis in the absence of HUS have never been considered. We studied the long-term risk of dysglycemia after an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis due to contamination of a regional drinking water supply with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter species.METHODS:Previously healthy residents aged 10 years or older participated in a longitudinal study Of the 3259 participants, 1139 had no bacterial gastroenteritis at the time of the outbreak, while 1492 and 628 had possible and confirmed gastroenteritis, respectively. The primary outcome of dysglycemia was defined as the composite of diabetes, impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Participants were followed for a mean of 4.5 years (range 1.9-5.6 years) after the outbreak.RESULTS:We found no association between acute symptomatic gastroenteritis and subsequent rates of dysglycemia (asymptomatic: 11.0% [95% CI 8.8-13.2]; possible gastroenteritis: 11.6% [95% CI 9.0-14.4]; confirmed gastroenteritis: 10.9% [95% CI 9.4-12.5]; p for trend=0.9). There were also no differences in mean fasting glucose levels between the groups.CONCLUSION:In this study, there was no association between bacterial gastroenteritis and the risk of dysglycemia in later years.