Prevalence and comorbidities of known diabetes in northeastern Italy
Francesca Valent1, Silvia Tillati1, Loris Zanier1
1Epidemiological Service Regional Health Directorate Friuli Venezia Giulia Region Udine Italy.
Aims/Introduction:
We aimed at estimating the prevalence and at identifying the frequent comorbidities of diabetes mellitus in a region of northeastern Italy from administrative health data.
Materials And Methods:
The prevalence was estimated according to two disease definitions, based on administrative health data. Association rule mining was used to detect comorbid diagnoses that coexisted with a diagnosis of diabetes among patients admitted to the regional hospitals.
Results:
The prevalence of known diabetes in 2010 was 6.0-8.1%, with great variations by age class (from approximately 2% <60 years to more than 20% in some elderly age groups). Of 155,494 patients admitted to the hospital in 2011, 9,358 had a diagnosis of diabetes. A total of 12 rules satisfied our criteria for support (>0.5%) and confidence (>5%), and identified nine frequent isolated comorbidities and three pairs of comorbid diagnoses. The rule with the highest support (2.4%) and confidence (39.5%) identified the combination of diabetes and essential hypertension.
Conclusions:
Association rule mining was useful, because it showed the complexity of diabetic patients. Clinical management of those patients cannot neglect comorbidities.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
01:15Diabetes: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Complications
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
01:20Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
01:08Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
01:36Carbohydrate Metabolism
Starch accounts for approximately 60% of the carbohydrates consumed by humans. Since amylase enzymes cannot function in the stomach's acidic environment, starch can only be digested in the mouth and small intestine. Simple sugars are found naturally in milk and fruits in...