Obesity in hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients: A descriptive study

BACKGROUND The association between obesity and type 2 diabetes has been well documented in epidemiological studies. Patients with type 2 diabetes have a higher body weight than control populations. Relatively few studies, however, have examined the prevalence of obesity in a cohort of hospitalized type 2 diabetes mellitus patients using an electronic health records database. This study measured the prevalence of obesity in hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients and described demographic and clinical characteristics using electronic health records from Convergence CT sites located in the southwestern United States. MATERIAL AND METHODS Hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were identified in electronic health records from the Convergence Global Research Network. Demographic and clinical characteristics were examined for hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes. Comparisons were made between males and females across different clinical characteristics as well as between obese patients (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and patients with BMI <30 kg/m2. RESULTS Approximately 26.8% of hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients were overweight (BMI=25-29.9 kg/m2) and 57.7% were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). A higher percentage of females (61.3%) were obese compared to males (54.6%) (p=0.002). Obese patients with type 2 diabetes were younger, appeared to have inadequate glycemic control, exhibited higher blood pressure, and had worse lipid profiles compared to type 2 diabetes patients with BMI <30 kg/m2. CONCLUSIONS Approximately 84.5% of the hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients identified in this study were overweight or obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2), suggesting the need for effective weight loss intervention in this population.