Prevalence of Dyslipidemia and Hypertension in Iraqi Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Background: Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable diseases in the world. It is a chronic disease with multiple complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and cardiovascular disease. Objectives: The study aimed to identify the prevalence of dyslipidemia and hypertension in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in Iraqi adolescents. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted on adolescent patients with T1DM for more than two years and aged 10-18 years old. For each participant, the age, gender, onset and duration of the DM, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level in the blood were recorded. Results: Of 70 subjects, there were 42 (60%) girls. The duration of the DM was predominantly between 2-5 years (59%). Around half of the cases were diagnosed between 5 and 10 years. Girls had a significantly higher mean BMI than boys [21.5 kg/m2 for girls and 18.6 kg/m2 for boys (P-value 0.001)]. Seven (10%) patients were diagnosed with hypertension. LDL was high in 22 patients (31%) with the majority of them (15/22) having an LDL value of between 100-130 mg/dL. Most of the participants with a high LDL were girls (18/22) with a statistically significant gender difference (P-value = 0.018). There were significant correlations between high blood pressure and BMI (P-value = 0.004) and elevated LDL levels (P-value = 0.008). Conclusion: The study revealed that hypertension and dyslipidemia were seen in 10% and 31% of children with T1DM respectively. The elevated LDL and BMI were significantly higher in female patients than in males. Besides, there were significant associations between high blood pressure and BMI and elevated LDL levels.