Prevalence of type 2 diabetes–associated complications in Pakistan

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is rapidly increasing in Pakistan. Various micro- and macro-vascular complications are associated with disease progression which increases the economic burden not only on patients but also on country. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of micro- and macro-vascular complications among T2DM patients in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 692 T2DM patients during July 2011 to December 2012. The participants recruited in this study were clinically diagnosed by certified diabetologist and endocrinologists in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Kahuta Research Laboratory (KRL) hospital of Islamabad. Demographic and clinical data was collected under supervision of a diabetologist and endocrinologist using a specially designed questionnaire. Clinical variables were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 and Graphpad prism 5 version 5.01. Of the 678 T2DM patients, 432 (63.62 %) were females with mean age of 51.81 ± 11.43. Out of total patients, 0.56 % were diagnosed with retinopathy, 0.84 % with nephropathy, 0.28 % with neuropathy, 28.17 % with ischemic heart diseases, 8.45 % with stroke, and 5.35 % with peripheral vascular disease. Overall, 55.77 % of T2DM patients were hypertensive and 0.56 % experienced impotence. Significant association of hypertension ( P = 0.0072), ischemic heart disease (IHD; P = 0.0001), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD; P = 0.014) was observed at gender level in the study subjects. This study indicates high prevalence of macro-vascular complications along with high triglyceride level and hypertension among T2DM patients. A study with larger sample set is suggested to explore the relation of genetic and environmental factors on disease progression and sub-population variations.