Diabetes as a risk factor of hospitalization in the surgical ward due to cancer in the elderly and middle-aged population

Introduction: Diabetes can be considered as a risk factor of several types of malignancy. Surgery is one of the primary methods of cancer treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between diabetes and hospital admissions to the surgery unit due to malignancy among elderly and middle-aged people. Material and methods: Data for analysis were taken from the medical records of 7,694 patients aged > 45, hospitalized in the General Surgery Ward in the Specialist District Hospital in Stalowa Wola in the Subcarpathian (Podkarpacie) Province, Poland, in the years 2010-2013. Among them malignancy was diagnosed in 652 patients and diabetes in 370 subjects. Ninety-three patients suffered from both diabetes and cancer. Results: Diabetes was associated with significantly elevated risk of hospitalization due to malignancy compared with the non-diabetic population, odds ratio (OR) 4.051 (95% confidence interval: 3.154-5.203), p < 0.001. Among people with diabetes, elderly patients (> 65 years) had higher risk of hospital admission due to cancer compared with the middle-aged population, OR = 5.238 (2.873-9.550), p < 0.001. Also, urban residents had higher risk compared with rural inhabitants, OR = 2.272 (1.375-3.752), p = 0.002. Conclusions: Patients with diabetes, especially elderly and urban inhabitants, are at high risk of hospital admission due to malignancy. This indicates the need for oncological vigilance in such patients for early detection and treatment of cancers common in this population.