Cited by 141Pituitary Gland Disorders and TreatmentsAdrenal Hormones and DisordersPancreatic function and diabetes

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 363 of the 383 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 145 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Glucose Metabolism Abnormalities in Cushing Syndrome: From Molecular Basis to Clinical Management

Open access

Abstract

An impaired glucose metabolism, which often leads to the onset of diabetes mellitus (DM), is a common complication of chronic exposure to exogenous and endogenous glucocorticoid (GC) excess and plays an important part in contributing to morbidity and mortality in patients with Cushing syndrome (CS). This article reviews the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of changes in glucose metabolism associated with hypercortisolism, addressing both the pathophysiological aspects and the clinical and therapeutic implications. Chronic hypercortisolism may have pleiotropic effects on all major peripheral tissues governing glucose homeostasis. Adding further complexity, both genomic and nongenomic mechanisms are directly induced by GCs in a context-specific and cell-/organ-dependent manner. In this paper, the discussion focuses on established and potential pathologic molecular mechanisms that are induced by chronically excessive circulating levels of GCs and affect glucose homeostasis in various tissues. The management of patients with CS and DM includes treating their hyperglycemia and correcting their GC excess. The effects on glycemic control of various medical therapies for CS are reviewed in this paper. The association between DM and subclinical CS and the role of screening for CS in diabetic patients are also discussed.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review synthesizes molecular, epidemiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic evidence on glucose metabolism abnormalities in endogenous and exogenous Cushing syndrome, emphasizing that hypercortisolism causes insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. It concludes that controlling hypercortisolism is central to glycemic improvement, but evidence for optimal antidiabetic therapy in CS remains limited.

Key findings

  • In endogenous CS, 20%–45% of patients have DM and 10%–30% have defective glucose tolerance, with overall glucose metabolism impairment approaching 70%; fasting plasma glucose may be normal in 64% of endogenous CS patients with DM.
  • Exogenous GC use carries dose-dependent DM risk: nearly 9% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis developed DM within 2 years of starting GC treatment; odds ratios for starting an oral hypoglycemic agent or insulin were 1.77, 3.02, 5.82, and 10.34 for hydrocortisone-equivalent doses of 1–39, 40–79, 80–119, and ≥120 mg/d, respectively; a meta-analysis reported an odds ratio of 1.5 to 2.5 for newly diagnosed DM with exogenous GCs.
  • In subclinical CS/adrenal incidentalomas, DM or IGT was identified in 20%–25% of patients with AI and SCS, though prevalence varied with screening methods and diagnostic criteria.
  • Medical therapy effects varied: ketoconazole improved glycemic control in 56% of diabetic patients in a series of 200 CD patients; mifepristone reduced OGTT glucose AUC by at least 25% in 60% of patients with DM/IGT (median decrease 36%); cabergoline reduced DM prevalence from 25% to 10% and IGT from 37.5% to 20% after 24 months in responsive patients; pasireotide caused hyperglycemia in up to 73% and 6% discontinued treatment because of hyperglycemia-related adverse events or uncontrolled DM.

Methods

  • Design: narrative review of the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of changes in glucose metabolism associated with hypercortisolism, addressing pathophysiological and clinical/therapeutic implications.
  • Data: cited literature and summary tables on prevalence of DM/glucose intolerance in CS, adrenal incidentalomas, screening for CS in type 2 DM, and medication effects; no primary patient sample or systematic search strategy is described.
  • Analysis: qualitative synthesis of molecular mechanisms and clinical evidence; no meta-analysis or formal risk-of-bias assessment is described.

Limitations

  • Stated: there is a lack of studies specifically investigating antidiabetic therapy in endogenous CS and few studies in exogenous GC-induced hyperglycemia; evidence on optimal antidiabetic treatment is scarce, and recommendations are based largely on current best practice.
  • Stated: there is no general consensus on diagnostic criteria for SCS, and prevalence estimates vary with screening methods and criteria.
  • Evident: as a narrative review, it does not report a systematic search, meta-analysis, or primary data; many cited therapeutic studies are retrospective, small, or uncontrolled.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1210/er.2016-1105

Cites

363 of 363 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 145 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 82 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 12
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 35
43 of 43
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Glucocorticoids circulate at 100- to 1000-fold higher plasma concentrations than aldosterone.

    “MRs have a similar affinity for aldosterone and cortisol (), but GCs circulate at to -fold higher plasma concentrations than does aldosterone.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In brain and adipose tissue, mineralocorticoid receptors are high-affinity glucocorticoid receptors fully occupied by cortisol.

    “In other tissues, such as brain and adipose tissue, MRs are considered high-affinity GC receptors, fully occupied by cortisol.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Diagnostic tests and cutoffs are important factors influencing the outcome of any screening.

    “Diagnostic tests and cutoffs are important factors influencing the outcome of any screening.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Glucocorticoids induce diabetes mellitus.

    “Although GCs are well known to induce DM, no studies have specifically investigated the role of antidiabetic therapy in the treatment of hyperglycemia in patients with endogenous CS, and few studies have reported the effects of some antidiabetic agents in exogenous GC-induced hyperglycemia.”
4 of 4

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

  • Incorrect prevalence in the Chiodini screening cohort

    Minor

    The table reports 30 cases among 294 patients, which is 10.2%, not 9.4%.

    Reported 9.4 · recomputed 10.204082

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

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Show all 383 references

20 of the 383 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Boyle, 1993, Cushing’s disease, glucocorticoid excess, glucocorticoid deficiency, and diabetes, Diabetes Res, 1, 301
  2. 2006, Insulin sensitivity in patients with adrenal incidentaloma [in Serbian], Srp Arh Celok Lek, 134, 315

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 101–141 of 141

Metadata

Authors
Scaroni, C., Zilio, M., Foti, M., & Boscaro, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Padua (IT)
  • Department of Cell Physiology & Metabolism, Centre Médical Universitaire, 1 Rue Michel Servet, 1211 Genèva, Switzerland
Venue
Endocrine Reviews
Published
2017-03-20
Volume
38
Issue
3
Pages
189-219
ISSN
  • 0163-769X (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-7189
OpenAlex
W2621858797
Cited by
140
References
383
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2
FWCI
1.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Endocrine Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • INFM-OAR (INFN Catania) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Eli Lilly and Company
  • Pfizer
  • Viropharma
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Pancreatic function and diabetes
Keywords
Cushing's syndrome, glucose metabolism, hypercortisolism, glucocorticoid excess, diabetes mellitus, glucose homeostasis, subclinical Cushing's syndrome, glycemic control
MeSH terms
Animals, Blood Glucose, Cushing Syndrome, Glucocorticoids, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Insulin Resistance, Signal Transduction, Glucose Metabolism Disorders

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