Variability of Length of Small Intestine in Indian Population and Its Correlation with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity.

Purpose: Previous studies have correlated small intestinal length with gender, age, weight, height and ethnic background. Some studies have reported a positive correlation of small intestinal length to body mass index (BMI). Some studies have shown that bypassing proximal small intestine can result in diabetes mellitus (DM) control. Present study was conducted to find correlation of small intestinal length with BMI and DM.
Materials and Methods: Two hundred eighty-three patients aged between 18 and 60 years who underwent open or laparoscopic abdominal surgery were included. Height, weight, BMI, random blood sugar (RBS), HbA1c, etc. were noted. A standard 30-cm umbilical tape with 10 cm marking was used to measure the length of small intestine in laparotomy patients, whereas lap bowel graspers with marking of 10 cm on the shaft was used for laparoscopy patients. Statistical significance of normally distributed continuous variables was tested using independent sample t test. Spearman rank correlation was used to test association between two ranked variables.
Results: The mean small intestinal length in Indian population was 777.1 cm with a standard deviation of 186.2 cm. Mean length of small intestine was significantly higher in patients who had HbA1c ≥ 6.5% and RBS levels ≥ 200 mg/dL. HbA1c and RBS showed significant but a weak positive correlation with length of small intestine. BMI did not show significant correlation with length of small intestine.
Conclusion: Small intestinal length had significant but a weak positive correlation in patients who had HbA1c ≥ 6.5% and RBS levels ≥ 200 mg/dL.