Introduction
Patients with diabetes mellitus commonly complain of gastrointestinal symptoms, including chronic abdominal pain and bowel dysfunction, for which there is no structural cause.
It is now widely recognised, although only relatively recently, that complications involving the gastrointestinal tract represent an important cause of morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus. However, epidemiological studies of these problems remain sparse and the data are conflicting.
In addition, aspects of quality of life have attracted increased interest in the past few years, as it has been shown that gastrointestinal problems can impair well-being and daily life in diabetes.
