Control of risk factors for cardiovascular disease among adults with previously diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus: A descriptive study from a middle eastern Arab population

Background: Despite the high burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Oman, there are scarce data from a nationally representative sample on the level of glycaemia and other cardiovascular (CVD) risk factor control. Objective: To estimate the proportion of patients with T2DM at goal for glycaemia and CVD risk factors using the Na-tional Diabetes Guidelines (NDG) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) clinical care guidelines; and to assess the quality of selected services provided to patients with T2DM. Methods: A sample of 2,551 patients (47% men) aged ≥20 years with T2DM treated at primary health care centers was se-lected. Patient characteristics, medical history and treatment were collected from case notes, Diabetes Registers and com-puter frameworks including the use of the last 3 laboratory investigations results and blood pressure (BP) readings re-corded in 2007. Results: The overall mean age of the cohort was 54±13 years with an average median duration of diabetes of 4 (range 2 to 6) years. Over 80% of patients were overweight or obese (body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 Kg/m2). Sixty-nine percent were on oral anti-diabetic medication, 52% on anti-hypertensives and 40% on lipid lowering drugs. Thirty percent of patients were at goal for glycosylated haemoglobin level (1 mmol/l for men, >1.3 mmol/l for women), and 61% for triglycerides (