Background: Type 2 diabetes is often accompanied by altered cardiometabolic risk profiles, including abdominal obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. The association of altered cardiometabolic risk profiles with chronic complications of diabetes is not well investigated.
Methods: We recruited 2954 type 2 diabetes patients with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 who visited the diabetes clinics of 62 hospitals in 21 cities in Guangdong province of China from August 2011 to March 2012. Demographic characteristics, personal and family medical histories, and data on chronic complications of diabetes were collected. Clinical examinations and laboratory assessment were conducted.
Results: Abdominal obesity was found in 91.6% of the study population, elevated blood pressure in 78.3%; elevated serum triacylglycerols in 57.8%, and reduced serum HDL-C in 55.9%. Among the cardiometabolic risk factors, elevated blood pressure was significantly associated with almost all the chronic complications of diabetes. After adjusting for age, gender, duration of diabetes, and HbA1c, elevated blood pressure was significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy (OR 1.63, 95% CI: 1.22-2.19), diabetic nephropathy (OR 3.16, 95% CI: 2.25-4.46), cardiovascular disease (OR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.70-4.32), and stroke (OR 1.90, 95% CI: 1.15-3.12). Abdominal adiposity was significantly associated with diabetic nephropathy (OR 1.39, 95% CI: 1.11-1.74). Elevated triacylglycerols was significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy (OR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.05-1.58) and diabetic nephropathy (OR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.05-1.58). Reduced HDL-C was significantly associated with stroke (OR 1.41, 95% CI: 1.05-1.88).
Conclusions: Altered cardiometabolic risk profiles, and elevated blood pressure in particular, were significantly associated with chronic complications in overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Future studies on the prevention of chronic complications of diabetes might make lowering blood pressure a primary target.