The achievement of glycaemic, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol targets in patients with type 2 diabetes attending a South African tertiary hospital outpatient clinic

• Published in: JEMDSA : the journal of endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes of South Africa Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 81 - 86
• Main Authors: Pinchevsky, Y, Shukla, V, Butkow, N, Raal, FJ, Chirwa, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centurion Taylor & Francis 04.05.2015; Medpharm Publications
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Cholesterol; Diabetes; diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Low density lipoprotein; management; Patients; Population studies; Risk factors; targets
• DOI: 10.1080/16089677.2015.1056468
• ISSN: 1608-9677

Objectives: To determine differences in the control of multiple diabetes control parameters in a select group of subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) after a four-year follow-up period. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting and subjects: The initial 2009 study population consisted of 666 T2DM patients of whom only 261 (39.2%) were audited at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Outcome measures: Using a public sector database, retrospective data were obtained on the treatment of participants with T2DM attending a tertiary care setting and a descriptive analysis was done. Results: The mean age was 64 (SD 10.6) years, women represented 55% of the cohort and the mean duration of diabetes was 16 years (range 2-40 years) in 2013. Fewer patients achieved an HbA1c goal (of < 7%) in 2013 (15.5%) compared with 2009 (25.4%), whilst an additional 13.7% and 25.0% of the 261 patients reached blood pressure targets (< 140/80 mmHg) and LDL-C targets (< 2.5 mmol/L), respectively. Conclusion: Overall, more patients in the study reached blood pressure and LDL-C targets but there were difficulties in achieving optimal glycaemic levels over the four-year period. This study highlights the complexities of managing risk factors in T2DM, especially glucose control.