Prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients and healthy controls: A comparative study

Abstract

Background and Objective: Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of heart failure independently of other risks factors such as coronary artery disease and hypertension. The objective of the study is to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetic and in healthy controls. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional comparative study conducted over a period of 1½ years. The study group included 50 diabetics and 50 healthy controls recruited from both in- and out-patient departments; age- and sex-matched. The analysis was done using proportions, Z test to see the difference in prevalence between two groups, odd's ratio to assess the risk and Chi-square test to see the statistical significance. Results: Diastolic dysfunction was found in 36 (72%) of the diabetic patients and in 15 (30%) of the healthy controls. Odds ratio was 6, indicating a 6 times higher risk of developing diastolic dysfunction among diabetic patients compared to the healthy controls. The prevalence of diastolic dysfunction showed no significant difference among the gender and age in both groups. Diastolic dysfunction was more prevalent in diabetic patients with fasting blood glucose value greater than 167 mg/dL and postprandial blood glucose value more than 199 mg/dL; with a sensitivity of 72.2% and specificity of 64.3%. Furthermore, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value greater than 8.1% showed increased the prevalence of diastolic dysfunction in diabetic patients with a sensitivity of 80.6% and specificity of 71.4%. Conclusion: There was a significantly higher prevalence of diastolic dysfunction in diabetic patients with 6 times higher risk of developing diastolic dysfunction as compared to the healthy controls. Both fasting and postprandial blood sugars, as well as HbA1c, were found to be good indicators of diastolic dysfunction in diabetic patients.