Diabetes in the Context of Stroke (Local Study)

Background: Cerebrovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, are considered as a high burden heath issue around the world. Diabetes is a well-established risk factor for stroke that affects both severity and outcome.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate cerebral stroke in diabetic patients and the impact of diabetes mellitus on the severity and outcome of all types of strokes.

Patients and Methods: This study included 500 patients with the first attack stroke who were classified into two groups; Group A: 404 diabetic patients & Group B: 96 non-diabetic patients. All patients were diagnosed clinically and with base line CT (Computed Tomography) brain and stroke severity was evaluated by NIHSS within 24 hours of admission.

Results: The mean NIHSS in the diabetic cases was 10.35 ± 2.51 which was statistically significant higher as compared with the non-diabetic cases (7.25 ± 1.02) (P <0.001). The percentage of cases with infarction stroke was higher in the diabetic group, however it did not detect major dissimilarity between the 2 groups.

Conclusion: Cardiovascular complications including cerebral strokes occur in higher rates in diabetic patients as compared with the non-diabetic. The outcomes of cerebral strokes were worse as compared with the non-diabetic.