Prevalence of comorbidities associated with type 2 diabetes in patients attending a disease management program, Medellín, Colombia 2014 - 2019: a descriptive study.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The prevalence has increased due to population aging, obesity, and longer life expectancy. Likewise, the development of complications related to the disease has contributed to a more significant disease burden and is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes.  Methods: A descriptive study of patients in a disease management program in Medellín, Colombia, from June 10, 2014 to March 30, 2019 was carried out. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from clinical records. Descriptive analysis was performed using absolute and relative frequencies and the prevalences presented by sex. The Chi-square test was used to calculate the prevalence ratio with a 95 % confidence interval, with a p-value < 0.05 being considered statistically significant. Results: There were 1,018 patients with type 2 diabetes analyzed. The mean age was 66.0 years (SD: 12.93), the mean duration with diabetes was 12.9 years (SD:9.3), 55 % of patients were women, and 60.6 % of patients had no metabolic control. The main comorbidities were dyslipidemia in 67.9 %, obesity in 61.4 %, and hypertension in 59 % of patients. Differences were observed in the prevalence ratio (PR) of women versus men for dyslipidemia (PR 0.68 [CI: 0.52 - 0.89]), coronary artery disease (PR 0.41 [CI: 0.28 - 0,61]) and obesity (PR 0.23 [CI: 0.17 - 0.30]). Conclusions: Patients with type 2 diabetes have a high prevalence of comorbidities: dyslipidemia, obesity and arterial hypertension. A lower prevalence of comorbidities was observed in women than men for dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, and obesity.