Comorbidities in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Report on 219 Cases

Introduction A great number of comorbidities is often registered in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), increasing the costs associated with the management of this disease. Our objective is to describe the characteristics and comorbidities of a study group of 219 T2DM patients. Methods 219 T2DM patients were selected to partake in this study (mean age = 69.04 +/- 10.79 years, range 37-93, 51.14% female). Patients were identified by a database search of diagnostic codes of all discharge diagnoses and medical data were retrieved from the Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest records. Results The following comorbidities were registered: 80.82% arterial hypertension, 47.95% dyslipidemia, 45.21% valvulopathy, 36.07% heart failure, 33.79% arrhythmia, 33.33% obesity, 32.88% chronic kidney disease, 16.44% anemia, 12.79% hepatic steatosis, 10.50% diabetic nephropathy, 9.59% peripheral arterial disease, 8.68% diabetic neuropathy, 8.67% chronic venous insufficiency, 7.77% dyselectrolytemia and 4.57% diabetic retinopathy. Conclusions Our study clearly reinforces the need for a therapeutic approach centered not only on T2DM alone, but also on the T2DM-related and non-related comorbidities that increase the disease burden in diabetic patients and also the health-associated costs of this disease.