Evaluation of parathyroid function in patients with hypergastrinaemia and pernicious anaemia

In order to evaluate the possible causal relationship between raised serum gastrin levels and the development of primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) which is suggested from experimental studies we evaluated parathyroid function in a group of 32 patients with hypergastrinaemia and pernicious anaemia. The values for serum calcium and parathyroid hormone were determined as well as the fasting urinary excretions of cyclic AMP and calcium. There was no relationship between the serum gastrin levels and any of the other studied parameters and there was no consistent pattern suggesting parathyroid hyperfunction. A retrospective analysis of hospital records from 441 patients operated for primary HPT showed a prevalence of pernicious anaemia of 1.8%. This figure is higher than that found in the unselected age-matched population (0.31%). However, taken together this study does not support the hypothesis that hypergastrinaemia is of particular importance for the pathogenesis of primary HPT.