Characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes of short duration in Poland: rationale, design and preliminary results of the ARETAEUS1 study

Introduction There is a paucity of Polish data describing the characteristics of and assessing treatment goals in patients with relatively newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Objectives The aim of the study was to describe the baseline characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, who participated in the ARETAEUS1 study, and to assess to what degree diabetic control criteria recommended by the Polish Diabetes Association clinical practice guidelines are met. Patients and methods This cross‑sectional questionnaire‑based study was conducted from January to April 2009. It involved patients of any age and gender, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after January 1, 2007, and recruited by randomly selected physicians, both diabetologists and non‑diabetologists. Results We analyzed 1714 valid questionnaires from 333 physicians: 1150 from non‑diabetologists and 564 from diabetologists. Mean age of patients was 60 years, mean body mass index – 30.6 kg/m2, proportion of females – 50%. The levels of median glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol and triglycerides, mean low‑density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, as well as blood pressure were above the thresholds recommended in the guidelines (i.e., <6.5% for HbA1c, <4.5 mmol/l for total cholesterol, <2.6 mmol/l [or <1.8 mmol/l in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD)] for LDL cholesterol, <1.7 mmol/l for triglycerides, and <130/80 mmHg for blood pressure). Cardiovascular disease risk factors were common: hypertension was reported in over 75% of patients, lipid disorders in nearly 75%, CHD in 27% (previous acute coronary syndrome or stable CHD), previous stroke in 4%, and previous transient ischemic attack in 5.5%. Diabetic foot was reported in 1.7% of patients, nephropathy in 7%, retinopathy in 9% (in the group of diabetologists) and in 21% of patients (in the group of non‑diabetologists). Conclusions We observed a relatively high prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and late diabetes complications in patients with diabetes diagnosed within the previous 2 years.