Obesity and low target attainment rates in Chinese with type 2 diabetes

Although it is known that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity is increasing in China, there is little research into how obese or non-obese patients may differ in their attainment of treatment goals for type 2 diabetes. To do this, we assessed the attainment of American Diabetes Association (ADA)-recommended goals in Chinese with type 2 diabetes stratified by body mass index (BMI).

This cross-sectional study enrolled 520 Chinese with type 2 diabetes to find out if they had attained the following ADA-recommended goals: HbA1c<7%, SBP<130 mm Hg, DBP<80 mm Hg, LDL-C<100mg/dl, TG<150 mg/dl, HDL-C>40 mg/dl for men and >50mg/dl for women.

Only 44.4% of all participants achieved the blood pressure goal, 20.8% the HbA1c goal, 44.8% the LDL-C goal, 43.3% the HDL-C goal, and 66.8% the triglyceride goal. Obese patients were less likely than normal weight patients to achieve the blood pressure goal (OR, 0.474; 95% CI, 0.231-0.973; p = 0.01), the HDL goal (OR, 0.365; 95% CI, 0.163-0.817; p = 0.01), or the triglyceride goal (OR, 0.416; 95% CI, 0.212-0.817; p = 0.01), after adjusting for confounders. Compared to normal weight participants, the obese patients had a significantly higher prescription rates for statin, metformin and anti-hypertensive drugs.

Obese diabetic patients were less likely to achieve the blood pressure, LDL-C, HDL-C and triglyceride targets even when they were receiving several drugs to help them meet their target treatment goals. More strategies are needed to improve the treatment of Chinese with type 2 diabetes, particularly those who are obese.