Important co-morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus in three clinics in Western Kenya

Diabetes clinics in three hospitals in Western Kenya: Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and two associated district hospitals.

To determine the proportion of diabetes patients with a history of tuberculosis (  TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV  ) infection and tobacco smoking.

A descriptive study using routinely collected data from patient records in the three diabetes clinics.

Of 1376 patients analyzed, 750 (55%) were female. The mean age of the patients in the clinics was 53.5 years (95%CI 52.2-54.8), with an average duration of diabetes of 8.1 years (95%CI 7.6-8.7). Of all patients, 5.6% reported a history of TB, similar to the frequency about 20 years earlier (1990) in Tanzania. Only 30% of the patients reported knowing their HIV status; 6% were HIV-positive. A history of tobacco smoking was reported by 3.8% of the patients.

The HIV epidemic does not seem to have significantly changed the relationship between TB and diabetes mellitus (DM) in this cohort of diabetes patients. The frequency of HIV and TB in this special population was comparable to that in the general population, and only a small proportion of patients reported a history of tobacco smoking.