Dr. M. Samson, at University Medical Center Utrecht, and colleagues studied 182 patients with diabetes and 54 healthy volunteers. The participants consumed a test meal of two eggs, a slice of whole wheat bread and 200 mL water, after which the rate of gastric emptying was monitored by means of a breath test.

As reported in the medical journal Diabetes Care, the diabetic group retained an average of 31 percent of the test meal in the stomach two hours after eating, while the control group retained 20 percent at that time point.

Gastric emptying was slower in diabetic women than in diabetic men, but the rate was not affected by age, body weight, duration of diabetes or fasting glucose level. The authors also did not see any difference between patients with type 1 diabetes and those with type 2, or between those with and without diabetic complications.

Although gastric emptying was slower in patients reporting fullness, upper abdominal pain, and lack of hunger, these symptoms did not relate to the rate of gastric emptying.

In contrast, Samson's group did see a weak relationship between feelings of fullness and satiety during the test and the rate of emptying.

The investigators attribute delayed gastric emptying to abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system, whereas dyspeptic symptoms may be more related to altered visceral perception and impaired gastric accommodation.

Source: Yahoo News: Reuters Health: Diabetes Care, November 2003.