Pattern of dyslipidemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Punjab

Background: India leads the world with the largest number of diabetic patients. The risk of mortality is high with cardiovascular disease in patients of diabetes mellitus which in turn is well associated with dyslipidemia. Patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus are usually dyslipidemic, even when under relatively good glycaemic control. Diabetic dyslipidemia usually includes elevated plasma triglycerides (TG), elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and decreased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels but its pattern is also influenced by patient ethnicity. The objective of the study was to investigate the pattern of dyslipidemia in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus attending a tertiary care hospital of Punjab.Methods: A cross sectional study was performed on the consecutive patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the Medicine OPD of Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar over 6 months period (March 2015 to August 2015). The study included 285 patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus and the variables recorded were demographic characteristics, weight, height and fasting lipid profile parameters i.e. total cholesterol (TC), TG, LDL-C and HDL-C. The collected data was analyzed statistically using SPSS version 20 software.Results: There were 55.1% male and 44.9% female with mean age 52.7 ± 11.43; 42.8% patients were urban and 57.2% rural. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.8 ± 5.48 (male: 25.4 ± 4.62 and female: 28 ± 5.31). Dyslipidemia was found in 81.8% patients. The most commonly elevated lipid was LDL-C (59.3%) followed by TG (57.2%) and TC (36.5%). The HDL-C was decreased in 34.4% patients. The distribution of dyslipidemia among the different age groups was almost similar: 82.6% in < 45 years, 82.9% in 45-60 years and 83.7% in > 60 years, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.998).Conclusions: Dyslipidemia is highly prevalent in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Punjab. The patients of all age groups are affected similarly. The patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus should be made aware of dyslipidemia and the consequent increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. The complete lipid profile should be evaluated and dyslipidemia should be treated. This would significantly reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among the type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.