%0 Journal Article
%T Cross-sectional pilot study about the health status of diabetic patients in city of Misurata, Libya
%A AS Elhwuegi
%A AA Darez
%A AM Langa
%A NA Bashaga
%J African Health Sciences
%D 2012
%I Makerere University Medical School
%X Background: Being a leading cause of death worldwide, epidemiological studies about diabetes mellitus have encouraged governments to initiate or improve local diabetes monitoring and prevention strategies. Objective: The main objective of this study was to examine the profile of diabetic patients in the city of Misurata, the third largest city in Libya. Methods: 260 diabetic cases of both gender randomly selected from the total number of patients admitted to the centre of diabetes and endocrine disorders, Misurata -Libya for the period between January to March 2008. Data collected from patients¡¯ files and by directly questioning the patients. SPSS software version 13 was used for the statistical analysis and presentation of the data. Results: 87% of all patients were type 2 diabetics, while only 9.9% were type 1. 73% of all patients had family history of diabetes. 52% of all diabetic patients were obese, with more obesity in females (70% of females) than males (33.8% of males). Obesity was more pronounced in type 2 patients (56.8%) than in type 1 patients (11.5%). 38% of all patients were treated with insulin while 35.4% were treated with oral hypoglycemics. Meanwhile 32.6% of type 2 diabetic patients were treated with insulin. Only 9.2% of all patients had fasting blood sugar below 140 mg/dl, whereas 55% had levels in the range of 140-180 mg/dl, while 35.8% had levels above 180 mg/dl. Microvascular complications included retinopathy (16.2% of all patients), neuropathy (11.2%), nephropathy (1.5%) and combination of neuropathy and retinopathy (6.5%). Conclusion: High percentage of risk factors including obesity, family history of diabetes, hypertension and microvascular complications requires a Libyan national policy for the surveillance, prevention and control of diabetes and its complications.
%U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ahs/article/view/75626