A Study on Prevalence of Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy in Type 2 Diabetes and Utility of Corrected Qt Interval for Its Diagnosis

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus, a cluster of metabolic disorders, is distinguished by elevated blood glucose levels resulting from insulin secretion or action issues. Type 2 Diabetes is a major global health concern, impacting a substantial portion of the population. According to the World Health Organization, India had 31.7 million diabetics in 2000, and this figure is projected to reach 79.4 million by the year 2030. Materials & Methods: This is hospital based cross sectional observational study which was conducted in the  Department of general medicine of Private medical college with study period of 1 year. The total sample size of the study was 100 patients. The collected data was entered in Microsoft Excel. Coding of the variables was done. Analysis was done using SPSS software (Version 27, IBM).

Results: The average age of the individuals is 50.3 years, with a standard deviation of 24.68 years with  gender distribution of 53% males and  47%females . Diabetic duration - 20% of patients are below 5 years duration, 30% are between 5 and 10 year duration, and 50%, is more than 10 years of duration. Relationship between QTc interval values and Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy (CAN) scores, with a p-value of 0.000, indicates a highly significant association. Conclusion: The prevalence of Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy is high among type 2 diabetics in our hospital, and it increases with the duration of diabetes. Approximately half of patients with type 2 diabetes develop autonomic dysfunction after ten years. A strong correlation exists between Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction and QTc prolongation. QTc interval on an ECG can be used to diagnose Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy.