Clinico-demographic profile of type 2 diabetes patients with cardiac autonomic neuropathy

Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases, the reason for which is not completely understood. Aim: To study the clinico-demographic profile of type 2 diabetes patients with cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN). Materials and methods: This was a cross sectional study involving 100 patients attending the diabetic clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Demographic data was collected and autonomic function testing was done with Ewing and Clark's tests. Results: The prevalence of CAN was 58 %. CAN had statistically significant association with increasing duration of diabetes (p < 0.00001), increasing values of HbA1c (p < 0.00001), and with combined use of insulin and oral medications (p < 0.05). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of CAN in the diabetic population providing a large pool of patients awaiting effective interventions.