Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and their association with renal impairment in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Nigerian tertiary hospital: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: the population of elderly with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has been on the increase. The burden of cardiovascular disease and renal impairment may also increase due to the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and ageing in those with T2DM. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and their association with renal impairment in elderly with T2DM were determined. Methods: this is a cross-sectional study that involved 96 elderly patients with T2DM and 96 elderly individuals without DM as control. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was determined among the study participants. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the significant cardiovascular factors associated with renal impairment among the elderly with T2DM. P-value <0.05 was taken as significant. Results: the mean age of the elderly with T2DM and control group were 66.73±5.18 years and 66.78±5.25years, respectively. The male: female ratio was 1: 1 for both groups. The prevalence of the cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly with T2DM and control were; hypertension (72.9%vs39.6%; p ≤0.001), high glycated haemoglobin (77.1% vs 0%; p ≤0.001), generalized obesity (34.4%vs1.0%; p ≤0.001), central obesity (50.0%vs11.5%; p ≤0.001), dyslipidemia (97.9%vs89.6%; p=0.016), albuminuria (69.8% vs 11.2%; p ≤0.001), anaemia (53.1%vs18.8%; p ≤0.001). Renal impairment was present in 44.8% of the elderly T2DM. On multivariate analysis, the cardiovascular risk factors significantly associated with renal impairment in elderly with T2DM were high glycated haemoglobin (aOR: 6.21, 95% CI: 1.61-24.04; p=0.008), albuminuria (aOR: 4.77, 95% CI: 1.59-14.31; p=0.005) and obesity (aOR: 2.78, 95%CI 1.04-7.45; p=0.042). Conclusion: cardiovascular risks factors were highly prevalent and closely associated with renal impairment in elderly with T2DM. Early cardiovascular risk factor modification may reduce both renal and cardiovascular disease burden.