Drug Induced Diabetes

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) refers to a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycemia. Due to the ingestion of a drug, the development of a hyperglycemic state that meets the definition of diabetes is known as drug-induced diabetes. The fasting glucose criterion for diabetes was revised by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in the year 1997 by lowering the cutoff fasting glucose value from 140mg/dl to 126mg/dl. ADA and World Health Organization (WHO) recognized drug induced diabetes as a separate etiological category. The offending drugs that induce diabetes are grouped based on the mechanism by which they induce diabetes. The rise for developing drug induced diabetes includes an unsuspected and underlying abnormality in carbohydrate metabolism or family history. This review article is mainly focused on the drug classes that cause diabetes like thiazides, ?- antagonists, steroids, statins, antipsychotic agents, protease inhibitors and immunosuppressive agents. In case of patients with pre diabetes, diabetes and insulin resistance syndrome, a drug that has the tendency to affect the blood glucose levels must be avoided.