[Chronic complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus cared for at a health center].

OBJECTIVE

To know the chronic complications affecting a type-2 diabetic population in a health center, and to analyze the relationship between these complications and risk factors.

DESIGN

Transversal study.

SETTING

Puerto de Santa Maria-Norte Health Center, Cadiz, Spain.

PATIENTS

Type-2 diabetic population (n = 504) included in the diabetes program of the center, aged over 12 years old, of both sexes.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes recorded was 2.3%. Average age of the population was 63.9 years (SD 10.6), women representing 57.9% of total. Average length of evolution of the disease was 8.6 years (SD 11.4). 17.1% of patients were receiving insulin therapy, 65.4% were receiving oral antidiabetics, and 17.5% were on special diet. The most important risk factors found were: family history of diabetes (54.6%), obesity (51.2%), sedentary life style (41.1%), and hypertension (47.2%). Chronic complications affected 67.8% of the diabetic patients attending the center; predominant complications were peripheral vascular disease (31.7%), retinopathy (30.6%), ischemic heart disease (21.2%), cerebrovascular accident (10.7%), neuropathy (8.9%) and nephropathy (6.2%). The risk factors most associated with macrovascular complications were: length of evolution, smoking and age of diagnostic and hypertriglyceridemia. For the microvascular complications were: HbA1c, length of evolution and age.

CONCLUSIONS

We found a significative prevalence of complications in spite of the average length of disease evolution time in the population not being very high. However the risk factors strongest associated with the existence of chronic complications are susceptible to be modified with a better metabolic control of the patients.