Abstract:
Dyslipidaemia, an irregular aggregate of lipids in the blood is common in diabetes and
cardiovascular disease sufferers. A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of dyslipidaemia was
performed among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Patients (n = 100) that participated in the study were within the age range of 19–68 years, of whom
89% were observed to have serum lipid abnormalities. Out of the 100 patients, 56%, 64%, 61%,
and 65% were recorded to have high total cholesterol (TC), hypertriglycemia, increased low-density
lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C), and reduced high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C),
respectively. In male diabetic patients, a marked prevalence of (94%) dyslipidemia was noted,
of which 52% were affected by high TC (5.3–7.9 mmol/L), with 70% having a high level of triglyceride
(TG) [1.72–7.34 mmol/L], while 60% had a high LDL-C (3.1–5.5 mmol/L), including 78% with low
HDL-C (0.7–1.1 mmol/L). In comparison, 84% of diabetic females had dyslipidemia, with high TC
(5.1–8.1 mmol/L), hypertriglycemia (1.73–8.63 mmol/L), high LDL-C (3.1–5.6 mmol/L), and low levels
of HDL-C (0.8–1.1 mmol/L) affecting 60%, 58%, 62%, and 52% of the patients, respectively. This study
showed the importance of screening and the regular surveillance of dyslipidaemia in T2DM patients
as there is a paucity of data on it in Africa.
