Update on cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus has emerged as a common comorbidity in cystic fibrosis and is considered a clinical entity (cystic fibrosis-related diabetes, CFRD) distinct from that of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The relevance of this diagnosis extends not only from its imposition of additional medical burden but its association with worse health outcomes in individuals with CF. This paper will review the 2010 U.S. and other international guidelines for screening and treating CFRD. It will highlight newer data regarding early glucose and insulin secretion defects, mechanisms linking CFRD to worse outcomes, and recent advances in T2DM that may provide insights for CFRD; insulin secretion will be reviewed as background for these recent developments.