Dyslipidemia and its associated factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor known to be associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This study determined the frequency of lipid abnormalities among type 2 diabetes patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional study using a convenient sampling method was conducted among 125 diabetes patients admitted or attending Ho Teaching Hospital in Ho between February 2019 and March 2019. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics and health status of participants. Blood samples were taken from participants after 9–12 h of overnight fasting, and their serum lipid profiles were estimated. Results: The frequency of high total cholesterol (TC), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high triglycerides (TG), high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high coronary risk ratio (CR) were 42%, 16%, 3%, 33%, and 78% respectively. The majority of the study participants had low risk atherogenicity, but the frequency of intermediate and high risk atherogenicity was 36% and 22% respectively. Also, most of the study participants were obese. Participants with secondary educational level had the highest frequency of dyslipidemia, while those with no educational background had the least. Conclusion: Dyslipidemia was very pronounced in the participants with elevated TC, TG, LDL-C, and low HDL-C supporting previous assertion that people with type 2 diabetes mellitus are prone to the development of lipid abnormalities.