Almost every second clinic patient with diabetes or prediabetes

Diabetes in clinic patients an underestimated risk?
Diabetes is an extremely widespread disease that endangers the health of those affected in many ways. On the one hand, this leads to increased hospital stays in diabetics and, on the other hand, complications are more common in their hospital stays. Exact figures for this have been determined by scientists of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München in a recent study.

"Every fourth patient in a university hospital suffers from diabetes (22 percent) and another as many from prediabetes (24 percent)," reports the DZD of the study results. It has also been shown that patients with diabetes had to stay in the hospital for an above-average length of time and at the same time had a higher risk of complications. The results of the study were published in the journal "Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes".

Many hospital patients suffer from diabetes, which often leads to complications and longer hospital stays. (Image: Robert Kneschke / fotolia.com)

Heavily growing number of diabetics
Overall, the proportion of people with diabetes has increased significantly in the past decades across Germany. "Meanwhile, almost one in ten suffers from the metabolic disease," says the DZD. In addition, it is already known that diabetics take an increased share among patients in the hospital or even in an intensive care unit. However, data on the prevalence of diabetes prevalence in clinics are scarce so far, reports the DZD.

Diabetes prevalence evaluated among clinic patients
In the current study, the scientists have now examined the prevalence of diabetes among patients at the University Hospital Tübingen over a period of four weeks. A total of 3,733 adult patients were screened for diabetes and prediabetes. It has been shown that almost every fourth hospital patient suffers from diabetes (22 percent), ie has a long-term blood sugar (HbA1c value) of 6.5 percent and more, according to the DZD. Twenty-four percent of the patients studied had a long-term blood glucose value of between 5.7 and 6.4 percent in a premature diabetes (prediabetes). In just under four percent of those examined a previously undiagnosed diabetes disease was detected.

Increased complications and longer hospital stays
"Extrapolated to the patients who are treated in our hospital annually, there are at least 13,000 diabetes patients who need to be treated," says study author Professor Andreas Fritsche. The study also showed that patients with diabetes had to be hospitalized about 1.47 days longer than those with the same diagnosis without diabetes or prediabetes. Furthermore, those affected have a higher risk of complications, reports the DZD. Complications occurred in 24 percent of patients with diabetes, whereas only 15 percent of patients without diabetes experienced it.

Diabetes screening advisable for clinic patients?
"In view of the high prevalence of diabetes and the negative effects of the metabolic disease, we consider it useful to screen over 50-year-old patients in clinics for unrecognized diabetes," report Prof. Fritsche and colleagues. If necessary, the metabolic disease can be treated as soon as possible and complications or prolonged hospital stays could possibly be avoided. Here, laboratory medicine is of particular importance, as it has contact with patients from all clinical areas as a cross-sectional subject, according to Prof. Andreas Peter, head of the central laboratory in Tübingen and the central study laboratory of the DZD, where the current study was carried out. (Fp)