Glycaemic Control and Complications of Type II Diabetes Mellitus - At Two Public Sector Diabetic Clinics

Objective: To determine the frequency of complications including retinopathy, nephropathy,  cardiovas- cular diseases and neuropathy and to determine the relationship between poor glycaemic control and complications among diabetic patients visiting outpatient clinics of tertiary care hospitals of Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted  for  a  period  of  six  months  from  April  2015 to September 2015 at the diabetic clinics of Civil Hospital and National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology after taking the ethical approval from the  Dow  University  of  Health  Sciences  (DUHS). Type II diabetic patients (n=400) were included through  purposive  sampling  technique  after  taking  written consent. Pregnant/lactating  women  and  terminally  ill  diabetic  patients  were  excluded.  Data  was collected through a pre-designed questionnaire. Data was entered and analyzed by SPSS v.21.00. Frequencies and Percentages were calculated. Regression analysis was  performed  to  deter- mine the relationship between glycaemic control and complications of diabetes. Results: Out of 400 diabetic patients, 323 (90%) participants were above 40 years of age, 278 (69.5%) were females and 122 (30.5%) were males. About 28.8%  had  cardiovascular  complications, 19.2% had renal complications, 65.3% had visual problems and 58% experienced loss of sensation. Approximately 59.5% patients had poor glycaemic control while 39.5% had good glycaemic  control.  Patients with poor glycaemic control (HbA1c  >8.0)  were  at  a  higher  risk  of  developing  hypertension and numbness of hands and feet. Conclusion: This study concluded high frequency of complications among Type II diabetes mellitus patients. Proportion of poor glycaemic  control  was  found  high.  Diabetic  complications  were  associ-  ated with poor glycaemic control.