Comparison of lipid profiles and 10 year cardiovascular disease risk estimates between indigenous northern diabetic and non-diabetic persons in Adamawa region, Cameroon

Abstract

Dyslipidemias are possible debilitating outcomes of diabetes and important predictors of cardiovascular disease risk in diabetic patients. We carried out a cross-sectional, case control study from April to July 2014 at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital involving 90 patients: 45 diabetics (10 type 1 and 35 type 2) and 45 non-diabetics with the aim of characterizing and comparing the lipid profile between type 1 and type 2 diabetics of northern Cameroon. Blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were obtained, and a fasting blood sample collected per patient on which blood sugar level and lipid profile were determined. Data analysis was performed using R Version 2.13.0 and the French version of Epi Info 7, with the level of significance set at 5%. Following threshold standards according to ANAES, the mean triglyceride level was significantly higher in type 2 diabetics (212.65±49.34 mg/dL) compared to type 1 diabetics (101.60±52.64 mg/dL) and controls (152.24±57.91 mg/dL) (p<0.0014). The mean low density lipoprotein (LDLc) was observed to be significantly higher in type 1 (136.78± 33.88 mg/dL) compared to type 2 (113.29 ± 38.00 mg/dL) diabetics and controls (94.62 ± 51.31 mg/dL) (P = 0.017), and likewise the median high density lipoprotein (HDLc) of type I, type II, and non-diabetics corresponding to 11.5, 47 and 56 mg/dl respectively were significantly different (p<0.0001). Furthermore, mixed hyperlipidemia was absent among the type 1 diabetics but more prevalent in type 2 diabetics (37.1 %) compared to controls (6.7%). According to the D’Agostino (Framingham) model, 37.1% of type II diabetics and 6.8 % of non-diabetics had a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in 10 years, and the difference here was statistically significant (p=0.001). Both type 1 and type 2 diabetics originating from northern Cameroon are very prone to dyslipidemias and thus highly predisposed to cardiovascular diseases.

Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2015) 4(3), 18-24

Keywords: Diabetes, Lipid Profile, Cardiovascular disease risk, Northern Cameroon