Abstract
Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a chronic condition with a high disease burden
worldwide, and individuals with T2DM often have other morbidities. Understanding the local
multimorbidity profile of patients with T2DM will inform precision medicine and public health, so
that tailored interventions can be offered according to the different profiles. Methods: An analysis
was conducted of electronic health records (2016–2021) in one hospital in Lima, Peru. Based on
ICD-10 codes and the available measurements (e.g., body mass index), we identified all T2DM cases
and quantified the frequency of the most common comorbidities (those in ≥1% of the sample). We
also conducted k-means analysis that was informed by the most frequent comorbidities, to identify
clusters of patients with T2DM and other chronic conditions. Results: There were 9582 individual
records with T2DM (mean age 58.6 years, 61.5% women). The most frequent chronic conditions were
obesity (29.4%), hypertension (18.8%), dyslipidemia (11.3%), hypothyroidism (6.4%), and arthropathy
(3.6%); and 51.6% had multimorbidity: 32.8% had only one, 14.1% had two, and 4.7% had three or
more extra chronic conditions in addition to T2DM. The cluster analysis revealed four unique groups:
T2DM with no other chronic disease, T2DM with obesity only, T2DM with hypertension but without
obesity, and T2DM with all other chronic conditions. Conclusions: More than one in two people
with T2DM had multimorbidity. Obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were the most common
chronic conditions that were associated with T2DM. Four clusters of chronic morbidities were found,
signaling mutually exclusive profiles of patients with T2DM according to their multimorbidity profile.
worldwide, and individuals with T2DM often have other morbidities. Understanding the local
multimorbidity profile of patients with T2DM will inform precision medicine and public health, so
that tailored interventions can be offered according to the different profiles. Methods: An analysis
was conducted of electronic health records (2016–2021) in one hospital in Lima, Peru. Based on
ICD-10 codes and the available measurements (e.g., body mass index), we identified all T2DM cases
and quantified the frequency of the most common comorbidities (those in ≥1% of the sample). We
also conducted k-means analysis that was informed by the most frequent comorbidities, to identify
clusters of patients with T2DM and other chronic conditions. Results: There were 9582 individual
records with T2DM (mean age 58.6 years, 61.5% women). The most frequent chronic conditions were
obesity (29.4%), hypertension (18.8%), dyslipidemia (11.3%), hypothyroidism (6.4%), and arthropathy
(3.6%); and 51.6% had multimorbidity: 32.8% had only one, 14.1% had two, and 4.7% had three or
more extra chronic conditions in addition to T2DM. The cluster analysis revealed four unique groups:
T2DM with no other chronic disease, T2DM with obesity only, T2DM with hypertension but without
obesity, and T2DM with all other chronic conditions. Conclusions: More than one in two people
with T2DM had multimorbidity. Obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were the most common
chronic conditions that were associated with T2DM. Four clusters of chronic morbidities were found,
signaling mutually exclusive profiles of patients with T2DM according to their multimorbidity profile.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 11 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 30 Jul 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
