Prevalence of dyslipidemia, treatment rate and its control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Northwest China: a cross-sectional study

Background The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is high in China, especially in Northwest China, and dyslipidemia in diabetes is a major factor at risk for CVD. The dyslipidemia prevalence, treatment and control among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Northwest China were investigated. Methods In the cross-sectional retrospective research, 1386 medical records of T2DM patients were collected from the Endocrine Department of Tangdu Hospital. And patients' age, sex, diabetes duration, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), complications, lipid levels, and drug use were recorded. The patient characteristics, lipid level and lipid-lowering therapy were analyzed. Results In this study, the dyslipidemia prevalence among T2DM patients was 87.7%, the treatment rate was 68.0%. The overall control rate of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was 43.1%, and control rates reached 52.7% for high-risk subjects and 36.1% for very high-risk subjects. The overall control rate of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) was 19.8%. HbA1c (%) >= 7 was indicated as a major factor predicting failure of LDL-C and non-HDL-C control [odds ratio (OR) 1.521; 2.206, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.154-2.005; 1.583-3.076)]. Conclusion Among patients with T2DM, it is high prevalence of dyslipidemia and low rate of treatment and control, and higher HbA1c level is the main factor for poor lipid control. It calls for more efforts to promote early screening, prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia for patients, thereby reducing the risk of CVD.