ABSTRACT
Background: chronic complications of diabetes causes substantial mortality and morbidity. The incidence and rate of progression of these complications depends on ethnic factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of late complications of diabetes and its relation to blood glucose control in a group of diabetic patients from South of Iran
Methods: in this retrospective study, medical records of all diabetic patients who were followed regularly during a 12 year period at outpatient clinics of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were investigated. Information regarding age, sex, type of diabetes, duration of disease, mean fasting and postprandial blood sugar, complications [eye, kidneys, peripheral nerves, foot, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular], and timing of complications with regard to duration of disease were collected
Results: the study population included 392 patients [205 males and 186 females], 300 patients had type 2 and 92 had type 1 diabetes. The mean age at diagnosis was 20.4+/-12.8 years for type 1 and 47.5+/-10.4 years for type 2 patients. 95% of patients developed at least one chronic complication during the follow-up period. The incidence rates of eye, renal and peripheral nerve complications were 51.5, 44.7, and 68.8 percent respectively. Diabetic foot problems occurred in 16.8 percent of cases and it led to amputation in 8.4 percent [33 cases] of patients. The incidence rates of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications were 49.7 and 15.3 percent respectively. The development of eye, renal, and peripheral nerve complications was related to blood sugar control
Conclusion: our diabetic patients developed chronic complications early and at a higher than expected rates. Future studies and more emphasis on prevention methods are recommended