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Effect of war on glycemic control in type II diabetic patients
1Vuk Vrhovac Institute for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia.
Objective:
To determine the effect of war-related, protracted stress on glycemic control in type II diabetic patients.
Research Design And Methods:
We examined 35 patients with type II diabetes as part of their routine control in October 1990. We reexamined them in October 1991, 3 mo after the war in Croatia began. We also administered a questionnaire to assess the patients' exposure to stress and changes in diet and exercise.
Results:
The patients were exposed to considerable stressors. The wartime diet differed from the prewar diet. We found significant changes in total serum cholesterol and TG values (P < 0.01), but we observed no significant changes in body weight, FBG, postprandial blood glucose, and HbA1c values. Insulin and glibenclamide dosages did not change.
Conclusions:
We detected no significant impact of stress on glycemic control, probably because of differences in individual stress responsiveness. Changes in the lipid status probably were attributable to changes in dietary habits caused by specific circumstances.