EVALUATION OF CLINICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE IN TYPE 2 LEAN DIABETES MELLITUS

Background and objectives: Various studies in India have documented Type 2 diabetes mellitus in low body weight/lean individuals. This present study was planned to assess the clinical, biochemical profile and complications in lean patients (BMI < 18.50 Kg/m²) with T2DM.

Methodology: This single centre hospital based descriptive study was undertaken in the Department of General Medicine, Father Muller Medical College, Mangaluru, Karnataka. A total of 28 patients diagnosed to have T2DM with BMI <18.50 Kg/m² were enrolled. Patients were investigated for clinical, biochemical profile and complications.

Results: Equal number of patients (50% each) were males and females with male to female ratio of 1:1. The mean age was 48.61±7.31 and 50% of the patients were aged from 41 to 50 years. The mean duration of diabetes was being 3.55±2.39 years and treatment with oral hyperglycaemic agents was noted in 50% of the patients. Majority of the patients (75%) had higher waist circumference and presented with diabetic complications that is, diabetic neuropathy and nephropathy in 75% of the patients each, diabetic retinopathy in 67.86% of the patients while lipid abnormalities that is, 82.14% had hypercholesteolaemia and 89.29% had hypertriglyceridaemia.

Conclusion and interpretation: Lean T2DM poses phenotypically a separate type of T2DM which is characterized by younger age at presentation with central obesity, overt hyperglycaemia leading to lipid abnormalities resulting early onset of microvascular complications.