Correlation between body mass index and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Retrospective study in a reference hospital in Paraguay

Abstract

Introduction Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing public health problem, frequently associated with overweight and obesity. Body mass index (BMI) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) are key indicators in the management of T2DM.

Objective: To correlate BMI and HbA1c in patients with DM2 treated at the Hospital Distrital de Capiatá, Paraguay, in December 2022.

Materials and methods: Correlational study with secondary data from 38 DM2 patients. Demographic, clinical, anthropometric and biochemical data were collected. Pearson's correlation was used to determine the correlation between BMI and HbA1c, with a significance level of p<0.05. The research protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the FCQ- UNA (CEI913/2022).

Results: 65.8% were women, with an average age of 55.8±5.2 years. 86.8% were overweight. The average fasting blood glucose was 245.0±57.0mg/dL and the HbA1c was 8.8±3.4%. A tendency to increase HbA1c levels with increasing BMI was observed. Patients with normal weight had an average HbA1c of 6.8±1.5% (good control), while those with overweight and obesity showed values of 8.6±2.7% (poor control) and 11.2± 3.0% (critical control), respectively. These differences were statistically significant (p<0.01). A strong and significant correlation was observed between BMI and HbA1c (r=0.681, p<0.01).

Conclusion: There is a directly proportional correlation between BMI and glycemic control in patients with DM2. These findings highlight the importance of weight control in the management of T2DM.