Diabetics in a Low Socioeconomic Cohort; An Update Into the Pattern of Presentation of Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

Abstract

ABSTRACT… Objectives:To study the latest trend of cardiometabolic risk factors in diabetics in a low socioeconomic group. Design: Cross sectional observational. Place and duration: Three tertiary care hospitals of Karachi. June 2013 -Dec 2014. Methods: 824 type II adult diabetic patients of both genders were included. History was taken regarding diabetes, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and cerebrovascular accidents. Blood pressure and BMI was recorded. Investigations were done for dyslipidemia. SPSS 16 was used for means, frequencies and proportions. Results: There were 276 males (33%) and 548 females (67%) with a mean age of 52 years (±9.67). Mean duration of diabetes was 9.36 years (± 6.39). Hypertension was present in 375 (45%) diabetics of which males were 124(33%) and females were 251(66.6%). Frequency of hypertension in total diabetic males is 45% (125) and in females 45.6 %( 140). Ischemic heart disease was present in 105 patients (12.7%) in which males were 45(42.8%) and females were 60(57.1%). The male percentage of ischemic heart disease was 16.3% (45) of the total males and females 11 %( 40). Stroke was found in 19 patients (2.3%) equally distributed in both genders. Mean Body mass Index was 28.02 (+/-5.31) with 135 (16.3%) being overweight and 529 (64.2%) obese. Dyslipidemia was present in 250 (42.3%) out of 591 patients. Smoking history taken in 614 patients showed that 73 (11.8%) were smokers and/or chewed tobacco. Out of a total of 595 patients, 372 (62.5%) patients had metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: There is a strong association and high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in diabetics in a low socioeconomic group. Factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and smoking further multiply the cardiovascular risk ratio in diabetics. Key words:Diabetes, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, Cardiovascular risk Factors, Obesity.