Aim: This study was aimed to assess lipid and glycemic control in Saudi diabetic patients & to compare it between male and female diabetics.
Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at department of Physiology and Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University. A total of 1000 Saudi diabetic patients were randomly selected. Selection criteria included Saudi National of any sex aged more than 25 years. No exclusion criteria except those patients who did not complete the investigations needed for this study. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Glycemic and lipid control was compared it between male and female diabetics.
Results: Female diabetics were younger than males (p = 0.0456). It was observed that female diabetic subjects had higher HbA1c than males (p = 0.0075). Moreover, they tended to be more obese than males (p = 0.0001). The systolic blood pressure was also higher in females than males (P = 0.0458). Lipid profile showed higher levels of TC, LDL and TG levels in females than males (p = 0.0004, p = 0.0429 and p = 0.0075 respectively). While difference in HDL levels was non significant (p = 0.4557).
Conclusions: Saudi diabetic women have poor glycemic and lipid control as compared to male diabetics. Moreover, they tend to be more obese. These findings may be attributed to poor lifestyle changes.
Key words: Gender, glycosylated hemoglobin, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus
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