Prevalence of secondary complications in Libyan diabetic patients

ABSTRACT

Seventy two Libyan diabetic patients with type II diabetes were clinically examined for the presence of secondary complications. These patients were attending the outpatient clinic of the diabetes hospital, Tripoli, libya after overnight fasting. 39% of them have eye disorders [background or proliferative retinopathy with or without cataract], 26.4% have autonomic neuropathy, 19% have vescular complications [microangiopathy or peripheral vascular disease] and 3% have nephropathy. The mean levels of fasting plasma glucose, body mass index and heart rate of these patients were 234 +/- 10 mg/di,30.7 +/- 0.7 kg/m2 and 78 +/- 1.7 beats/minute respectively. 32 patients have heart rate higher than 75 beats/min while 7 patients have lower than 65 beats/min. it is suspected that autonomic neuropathy might be the cause for these changes in the heart rate. Duration of diabetes appears to play some role in the onset and and progression of diabetic secondary complications especially in obese patients with poor metabolic control. Nephropathy and proliferative retinopathy seem to develop in the advanced stages of the disease. The responders [those with fasting plasma glucose less than 200 mg/di and Hb A1 less than 10%] have significantly lower levels of serum triglycerides, blood urea, serum creatinine and higher rate of creatinine clearance as well as lower mean/BMI score when compared with the nonresponders [those with plasma glucose levels higher than 200 mg/dl and Hb A1 more than 10%]. However, the levels of serum cholesterol of birth groups were not significantly different