Differences in Clinical Profiles and Cancer Incidence among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care - Comparison between Multidisciplinary and Usual Management

Sep 23, 2026

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Background: Multidisciplinary diabetes management is designed to reduce diabetes-related complications, yet its potential impact on cancer risk remains insufficiently studied. This study compared clinical profiles and cancer incidence between patients receiving multidisciplinary versus standard management in primary care. Methods: A retrospective cohort used territory-wide Hong Kong electronic health records for patients followed from 1997–2021. Cox regression with inverse probability weighting compared site-specific cancer risks. Results: Multidisciplinary care attenuated liver and pancreatic cancer risks, and usually aligned risk patterns in weighted analyses. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary management may mitigate certain cancer risks; further studies are needed to confirm prevention benefits.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages8

Reading Time20 min

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Abstract

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Differences in clinical proﬁles and cancer incidence among patients with type 2 diabetes in primary care: Comparison between multidisciplinary and usual management Journal of Multimorbidity and Comorbidity Volume 16: 1–8 © The Author(s) 2026 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions) [DOI: 10.1177/26335565251410270](DOI: 10.1177/26335565251410270) [journals.sagepub.com/home/cob](journals.sagepub.com/home/cob) Sarah Tsz Yui Yau 1 􀀁, Chi Tim Hung1 􀀁, Eman Yee Man Leung1 􀀁, Albert Lee1 and Eng Kiong Yeoh 1 Abstract Background: Multidisciplinary diabetes management has been designed to reduce the risk of diabetes-associated complications. Nevertheless, it remains underexplored whether multidisciplinary management may provide the added beneﬁts of lowering cancer risk. This study aims to compare differences in clinical proﬁles and cancer incidence between patients receiving multidisciplinary and standard management in primary care. Methods: This retrospective cohort study identiﬁed patients who attended general outpatient clinics between year 1997 and 2021 without cancer history using territory-wide electronic health records of Hong Kong. Patients were followed up until December 31st, 2021. Cox regression weighted with inverse probability of treatment was applied to compare the risk of site-speciﬁc cancers (colon and rectum, liver, pancreas, stomach, bladder, kidney, and lung) between patients with usual diabetes care (n=25,301), multidisciplinary diabetes management (n=66,382), and those without diabetes (n=54,376). Results: The risk of developing liver and pancreatic cancers appeared to be attenuated in patients who received multidisciplinary diabetes care, when compared to those with usual care alone (aHRs for liver: 1.90, 95%CI 1.26-2.86 vs 2.26, 95%CI 1.47-3.46; pancreas: 3.47, 95%CI 1.41-8.53 vs 5.57, 95%CI 2.15-14.45), with reference to non-diabetes. Patients with usual diabetes care showed a higher risk of gastric cancer in unweighted model, but the association disappeared in weighted model. Overall, patients who received multidisciplinary diabetes management tended to be younger with less comorbidities. Conclusion: The risk of liver and pancreatic cancers appeared to be mitigated in patients receiving multidisciplinary diabetes care. Further studies are warranted to evaluate whether multidisciplinary management may provide additional beneﬁts of cancer prevention. Keywords primary care, diabetes care, multidisciplinary management, cardiovascular health, cancer Received: 16 September 2025; accepted: 5 December 2025 1JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China Corresponding authors: Sarah Tsz Yui Yau, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 4/F, School of Public Health Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China. Email: [tszyuiyau@link.cuhk.edu.hk](tszyuiyau@link.cuhk.edu.hk) Eman Yee Man Leung, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 4/F, School of Public Health Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China. Email: [yeemanleung@cuhk.edu.hk](yeemanleung@cuhk.edu.hk) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Introduction Diabetes is one of the leading causes of premature mortality and disability worldwide.1 It has risen to the 5th leading cause ofdisabi

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study?

To compare differences in clinical profiles and site-specific cancer incidence between patients receiving multidisciplinary diabetes management and those receiving standard management in primary care.

How were cancer risks compared between the management groups?

A retrospective cohort of Hong Kong patients without cancer history was followed to December 31, 2021, and Cox regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting compared risks across multiple cancer sites.

What were the key findings regarding liver and pancreatic cancer?

The risk of developing liver and pancreatic cancers appeared attenuated in patients receiving multidisciplinary diabetes care compared with usual care, relative to both usual care and non-diabetes reference groups.

Sep 23, 2026

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