Risk of malignant neoplasm of the pancreas in relation to diabetes: a population-based study in Taiwan.

Objective: We prospectively assessed the age- and sex-specific incidence and relative risk of malignant neoplasm of the pancreas in Taiwan's diabetic population.

Methods: A total of 615,532 diabetic patients and 614,871 age- and sex-matched control subjects were linked to inpatient claims (2000-2006) to identify the admissions for malignant neoplasm of the pancreas (ICD-9: 157). The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the age- and sex-specific relative risk of pancreatic neoplasm.

Results: Compared with the control group, the diabetic patients had a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer (hazard ratio [HR] 1.54 [95% CI 1.39-1.71]). The higher and significant age-specific HRs were observed in diabetic men (1.91) and women (1.80) aged 45-65 years.

Conclusions: Middle-aged diabetic men and women were associated with the most increased risk of malignant neoplasm of the pancreas.