DIETARY AND CARDIO-METABOLIC RISK FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS ATTENDING MEDICAL OUT-PATIENT CLINIC OF A FEDERAL TEACHING HOSPITAL IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of cardio-metabolic risks contributes to an increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus. Although the cardiovascular risk factors among type 2 diabetic patients is well known, the dietary and cardio-metabolic risk factors has not been fully investigated. This study was carried out to determine the cardiometabolic risk factors in 45 purposively-selected adult diabetic patients attending the Medical Out-Patient Clinic, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. A 24-hour dietary recall was used to determine the dietary intake of the patients. Weight and height were measured to determine body mass index (BMI) which was categorized as underweight (<18.5kg/m2), normal weight (18.5-24.9kg/m2), overweight (25-29.9kg/m2) and obese (≥30.0kg/m2) and also waist-hip ratio. Biochemical parameters (triglyceride, blood pressure, total cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol) were obtained from their hospital records. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and correlation at p<0.05. The mean age of the patients was 61.3±8.15 years. Their mean BMI was 30.2±6.94kg/m². About (37.8%) of the patients had systolic stage one hypertension, 88.9% had normal triglyceride, 55.6% had normal fasting blood glucose and 80.0% had normal total cholesterol. Less than half (44.4%) of the patients were obese, 33.3% had high waist-hip ratio. A positive and signicant correlation was only observed between regular exercise and fasting blood glucose of the patients. The cardiometabolic risk factors were slightly high among type 2 diabetic patients in UCH, Ibadan. Diabetic individuals should be educated to maintain healthy lifestyles, comply with the right diets in order to reduce complications.