Prevalence of Anaemia in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross- sectional Study from a Tertiary Care Centre, Chennai, India

Abstract

Introduction: Anaemia is frequently observed in diabetes, affecting the quality of life and also contributing to the pathogenesis of microvascular complications. However, according to the literature, there have been no previous studies on the prevalence of Anaemia in Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) without Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) in the south Indian population. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of anaemia in T2D and study its association with glycaemic control and diabetes-related microvascular complications. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross- sectional study that included 100 patients with T2D visiting the Department of Endocrinology at Sri Ramachandra Hospital, Chennai between June and September 2019. After obtaining informed consent, samples for complete blood count, Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), renal function tests, lipid profile, and urine microalbumin were collected from participants. Gestational diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), and DKD on erythropoietin were excluded from this study. The test of Proportions was performed using the Chi- square test. Results: The mean age of the study population was 57.91±9.50 years. The overall prevalence of anaemia in the present study was 60%, and it was higher among women (p=0.023). Anaemia was also observed to be more common in those with poor glycaemic control (p=0.340) and in cases where at least one microvascular complication had occurred (p=0.796). Conclusion: Anaemia was observed in almost two-thirds of patients with T2D in this study. The prevalence of anaemia was higher in individuals with poor glycaemic control and diabetes- related microvascular complications.