Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Lipid abnormalities are frequent in type 2 diabetes. They increase the risk of cardiovascular events, morbidity and mortality in these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the lipid profile in patients with diabetes during hospitalization.

Method: We conducted a prospective study in the department of diabetology in the National Institute of Nutrition in Tunis from October 2021 to January 2022. This work was carried out on the medical records of hospitalized patients. Hypercholesterolemia was defined when the total cholesterol >5.2 mmol/l, Hypertriglyceridemia when a triglyceride level >1.7 mmol/l, and Low HDL cholesterol level by an HDL cholesterol level<1 mmol/l and <1.3 mmol/lin men and women respectively.

Results: We included 97 patients with diabetes with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.6 and a mean age of 51.1±17.5 years. The majority were type 2 diabetics (72%). The mean age of diabetes was 12.2±8.8 years [0;34]. Pre-obesity, class I, class II and class III obesity were found in 28%, 30%, 3% and 3% of patients, respectively. The lipid profile showed hypercholesterolemia in 19% and hypertriglyceridemia in 29% of cases. Hypertriglyceridemia was correlated significantly with diabetes imbalance (P = 0.005) and with poor compliance with dietary rules (P = 0.002). Then, no significant correlation with obesity was found (P = NS). In addition, Low HDL cholesterol concerned 55% of the patients. LDL cholesterol was ≥ 0.7 g/l in 86% of cases and it was correlated with the presence of coronary artery disease (P = 0.03). Statins were prescribed for 54% of diabetics: 49% of patients were on atorvastatin while 3% of diabetics were on simvastatin. Only one patient was on rosuvastatin.

Conclusion: Achieving glycemic control in patients with diabetes is compulsory to improve lipid profile. Lipid-lowering drugs, especially statins are often necessary to prevent cardiovascular diseases.