Predominant Complications of Type 2 Diabetes in Kumasi: A 4-Year Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Background and objectives: Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) has been associated with several microvascular and macrovascular complications. However, studies regarding the predominant complications of T2DM in Ghana have not been conducted. This study evaluated the prevalence and predominant complications of T2DM and assessed the sociodemographic factors associated with the development of diabetes-related complications in Kumasi, Ghana. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, Ghana. A total of 1600 Ghanaian T2DM adults were included in this study. Patients’ clinical data from 2012 to 2016 were retrieved from the hospital’s archive. Results: The prevalence of macrovascular and microvascular complications of T2DM was 31.8% and 35.3% respectively. The prevalence of neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, sexual dysfunction, diabetic keto-acidosis (DKA), and hypoglycemia were 20.8%, 12.5%, 6.5%, 3.8%, 2.0%, and 0.8% respectively. Sexual dysfunction was significantly associated with the male gender compared to females. Being employed: Informal (aOR = 0.479, p < 0.0001), and Formal (aOR = 0.475, p = 0.0008) was associated with lower age- and sex-adjusted odds of developing T2DM-related complications while having T2DM for 5–10 years (aOR = 1.550, p = 0.0009) and more than 10 years (aOR = 2.755, p < 0.0001) was associated with increased odds of developing complications. Conclusions: Microvascular complication is the most predominant among T2DM in Kumasi, Ghana. The most prevalent T2DM-related microvascular complication in Kumasi, Ghana is neuropathy. Sexual dysfunction is associated with male compared to female T2DM patients. Being employed reduces the chance of developing T2DM-related complications while increasing DM duration increases the risk of complications.