Prevalence and management patterns of type 2 diabetes associated cardiovascular complications

The present investigation was targeted to examine the morbidity of cardiovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and also the trends in the management of complications in Uzbekistan. This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted among 1200 patients with type 2 diabetes with a mean age of 58.4 years (range: 45-70 years) of the year 2018-2023 in the medical centers of Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. Data were collected through a review of medical records, clinical evaluation and standardized questionnaires. 45.2% of the patients had ≥ 1 cardiovascular complications based on the findings. The most common complications were ischemic heart disease (28.1%), hypertension (20.4%), heart failure (15.3%) and cerebrovascular accidents (8%). Of the risk factors, obesity (67.5%), dyslipidemia (58.9%) and uncontrolled blood sugar levels (mean HbA1c: 8.6%) were the most common causes for these complications to occur. The management pattern indicated that 74.8% of the patients were on metformin, 60.3% were on insulin, and 45.6% were on statins. But only 39.7% of the patients achieved the target of treatment for HbA1c <7%. For blood pressure management, 51.2% of the patients were on antihypertensive therapy and 35.4% had achieved LDL-C <100 mg/dL. Lifestyle modification in the form of regular exercise (30.1%) and healthy diet (24.8%) was reported at a low rate. The results show a high rate of cardiovascular complications among Uzbek diabetic patients and a large disparity in optimal control of these complications. Increasing access to combination treatments, patient education, and intensifying cardiovascular screening programs among these patients are advised.