Relationship between Body Mass Index and Diabetic Complications in Elderly Diabetics

Abstract

Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases characterized by metabolic disturbances with increasing prevalence worldwide. Individuals with diabetes mellitus present with several micro- and macro vascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. A higher body mass index (BMI) raises the risk of having uncontrolled diabetes and complications related to it, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, nervous system and eye problems. However, recent studies have reported that being overweight may confer a protective effect against all-cause mortality and on the life expectancy of diabetic patients; this has been termed the obesity paradox. The aim to explore the association between BMI and diabetic complications among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A case-control study was conducted on 60 elderly diabetic males and females aged ≥ 60 years recruited from the inpatient wards and outpatient clinics of Mansoura university hospitals. The sample was divided into 3groups: the first group was comprised of 26 elderly diabetic patients with normal BMI. The second group was comprised of 24 overweight elderly diabetic. The third group was comprised of 10 obese elderly diabetic. Full history taking, clinical examination, BMI measurement (kg/m2) were obtained from all participants. Results The current study showed that there was insignificant differences regarding BMI between the study groups. Hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic coma were least frequent among obese cases, while neuropathy was more frequent among cases with normal BMI. But neither of these relationships was statistically significant Conclusions: Any increase in BMI above normal weight levels was not associated with an increased risk of having complications of diabetes mellitus.