ABSTRACT
To determine the frequency and patterns of dyslipidemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus [DM] and to estimate the effects of sociodemographic and clinical variables on dyslipidemia. The setting took place in The National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics [NCDEG] at the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. The NCDEG is the only referral center in the country; therefore, the patients represent the population in different parts of the country. A cross-sectional design was used. A total of 702 patients with DM from the NCDEG aged >/= 20 years were consecutively enrolled between June 2005 and July 2006. Medical record abstraction of sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory data was performed. The frequency of hypercholesterolemia was 77.2%, low high-density lipoprotein [HDL] was 83.9%, high low-density lipoprotein [LDL] was 91.5%, and hypertriglyceridemia was 83.1%. Females had greater abnormalities in lipid profiles. High LDL-cholesterol was the most common dyslipidemia in combination [91.5%] and in isolation [12.8%]. Gender and hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c] predicted high total cholesterol; age and hypothyroidism predicted low HDL-cholesterol, gender predicted high LDL-cholesterol; and use of beta-blockers predicted high triglycerides. Over 90% of patients with type 2 DM had one or more types of dyslipidemia. The most common dyslipidemia in our study was high LDL-cholesterol and high triglycerides as reported in the literature. We recommend aggressive drug management, education, counseling, and behavioral interventions