Characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes of short duration in Poland: Rationale, design and preliminary results of the ARETAEUS1 study.
BACKGROUND
There is a paucity of Polish data describing the characteristics of and assessing treatment goals in patients with relatively newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to describe the baseline characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, who participated in the ARETAEUS1 study, and to assess to what degree diabetic control criteria recommended by the Polish Diabetes Association clinical practice guidelines are met.


METHODS
This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted from January to April 2009. It involved patients of any age and gender, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after January 1, 2007, and recruited by randomly selected physicians, both diabetologists and non-diabetologists.


RESULTS
We analyzed 1714 valid questionnaires from 333 physicians: 1150 from non-diabetologists and 564 from diabetologists. Mean age of patients was 60 years, mean body mass index -- 30.6 kg/m2, proportion of females -- 50%. The levels of median glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol and triglycerides, mean low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, as well as blood pressure were above the thresholds recommended in the guidelines (i.e., <6.5% for HbA1c, <4.5 mmol/l for total cholesterol, <2.6 mmol/l [or <1.8 mmol/l in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD)] for LDL cholesterol, <1.7 mmol/l for triglycerides, and <130/80 mmHg for blood pressure). Cardiovascular disease risk factors were common: hypertension was reported in over 75% of patients, lipid disorders in nearly 75%, CHD in 27% (previous acute coronary syndrome or stable CHD), previous stroke in 4%, and previous transient ischemic attack in 5.5%. Diabetic foot was reported in 1.7% of patients, nephropathy in 7%, retinopathy in 9% (in the group of diabetologists) and in 21% of patients (in the group of non-diabetologists).


CONCLUSIONS
We observed a relatively high prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and late diabetes complications in patients with diabetes diagnosed within the previous 2 years.
Polish Institute of Evidence Based Medicine, Kraków, Poland. gosiabala@mp.pl
Małgorzata M
MM
Bała
Ewa
E
Płaczkiewicz-Jankowska
Roman
R
Topór-Madry
Wiktoria
W
Leśniak
Ewa
E
Wiercińska
Paulina
P
Szczepaniak
Roman
R
Jaeschke
Jacek
J
Sieradzki
Władysław
W
Grzeszczak
Waldemar
W
Banasiak
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose