ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Clinical Diabetes
Clinical characteristics and associated factors of constipation patients with type 2 diabetes
Provisionally accepted
- 1Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- 2Shanghai Putuo District Liqun Hospital, Shanghai, China
- 3Haian People's Hospital, Nantong, China
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Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the clinical characteristics and associated factors of constipation in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Here, we focus on the correlation between time in range (TIR) and coefficient of variation (CV) of glucose and constipation in patients with T2DM. Methods: In the exploratory, cross-sectional study, a total of 120 patients diagnosed with T2DM in the department of Endocrinology and Gastroenterology of Liqun hospital from 2023 to 2024 were recruited. Patients with concurrent constipation were included in the constipation group, and those without concurrent constipation were included in the non-constipation group. Fasting blood indicators of patients were detected, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2 hours postgrandial blood glucose (2hPBG), glycosylated hemoglobin type A1C (HbA1c), fasting C-peptide (FCP), homeostasismodel assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Blood Glucose was monitored by a silicon-based dynamic system for 14 days, and TIR and CV were calculated by a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM). In addition, the symptoms of constipation, gastroparesis cardinal symptom index (GCSI), patient assessment of upper gastrointestinal symptom severity index (PAGI-SYM) and patient assessment of quality of life index (PAGI-QOL) were evaluated by questionnaires. The impact of TIR and CV for constipation risk was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: 1. More serious condition in constipation symptoms, GCSI, VSI, PAGI-SYM and PAGI-QOL scores in the constipation group. 2. Compared with the non-constipation group, the constipation group had longer courses, and higher probabilites of complications of autonomic neuropathy, diabetic nephropathy and hyperlipidemia; 3. Compared with the non-constipated group, FCP was significantly decreased, and HbA1c, TC and LDL-C were significantly increased in the constipation group. 4. TIR and CV were significantly correlated with constipation in patients with T2DM. Conclusions: Lower TIR and higher CV were associated with constipation in T2DM patients. These findings suggest that CGM-derived metrics may be useful markers of constipation risk and warrant investigation in prospective studies to determine whether improving these parameters can prevent constipation development.
Keywords: CGM, Coefficient of Variation, Constipation, Glucose target time in range, T2DM
Received: 16 Sep 2025; Accepted: 27 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Fang, Chen, Dai, Cai, Yang, Hu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ji Hu
Hong-Hong Zhang
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