Pattern of Dyslipidaemia among Patients with Diabetic Kidney Disease, in Northeastern Nigeria

Introduction: Diabetic Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder of carbohydrates, lipids and protein resulting from absolute or relative lack of insulin. The myriad of metabolic derangements lead to development of complications such as DKD. Insulin deficiency is the common pathway in the development of dyslipidemia and chronic hyperglycemia. These two factors appear to combine to cause DKD. Dyslipidemia and its characteristics in T2DM patients have not been studied in northeastern Nigeria. This study describes the prevalence and pattern of dyslipidemia among DKD patients and compared with T2DM patients without kidney disease.

Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of adult T2DM patients recruited consecutively from the diabetes clinic of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri between the periods January to December 2021. Socio-demographic variables including age, sex, weight, BMI as well aslaboratory parameters were obtained from each study participant. Glomerular filtration wasestimated using the CKD-EPI equation and serum lipids were classified according to the WHO recommendation.

Results: Out of318 study subjects recruited from the Diabetic clinic of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; 194(61%) were females and 124(39%) were males. The mean age of the study population was 49.64±11.40 years and a mean duration of DM of 7.00±6.45 years. Mean HbA1C and Fasting blood glucose of the study population were 9.67±8.39% and 11.06±8.31mmol/L respectively. There were 126(39.6%) study participants who had DKD and the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia among them was 50% (total cholesterol > 5.2mmol/L) compared with 35.4% among study participants without DKD.

Conclusion: The present study showed that lipid abnormalities are common among DKD patients in northeastern Nigeria. Dyslipidemia is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and kidney disease progression. Identification and aggressive management of these disorders will help in slowing down the progression chronic kidney disease and prevention of other cardiovascular diseases.