Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients in a primary health care center in Trinidad

The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has increased sharply in the developing countries and because Type 2 diabetic patients are at increased risk for CVD, we assessed CVD risk factors in newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic patients presenting in a primary health care center in Trinidad. Fasting and 2 h postprandial blood samples were collected from 387 (269 females, 118 males) newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic patients (mean age: 53.1+/-6.6 years) for the determination of plasma glucose, creatinine, cholesterol (chol), triglyceride (TG) and % glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) concentrations. Blood pressure and anthropometric indices were also measured. There were high prevalence rates of obesity (37%), overweight (35%), hypertension (21%), hypercholesterolemia (25%) and hypertriglyceridemia (22.3%) among the patients and these were significantly higher in women than men (P<0.001). Patients of Indian descent had a significantly higher prevalence of diastolic hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia compared with patients of African origin or mixed race (P<0.001). In comparison with males, female diabetic patients were at greater risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Early detection of CVD risk factors and treatment, particularly in women, may be beneficial management strategy in all local diabetic clinics in Trinidad.