Prevalence of Skin Manifestations of Diabetes Mellitus in the National Diabetic and Endocrine Center of Tripoli - Libya 2016

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a clinical syndrome that is frequently associated with kinds of skin manifestations. It is
observed in 30-71% of diabetic patients as will be presented in this cross sectional study to evaluate the frequency
of skin manifestations in patients with DM in this area. This study was conducted from August to October of 2016,
including patients between the age of 15 and 92. The data was collected face-to-face from admitted diabetic patients
after verbal consent was given. They were tested for skin manifestations by using a specific questionnaire. There
was a total of 202 diabetic patients, 56.4% of them were female. The mean age of patients was 44.3 ±17.6 years,
50.5% of cases had NIDDM, mean duration of DM was10.5±8.3 years, most of cases on insulin treatment (81%).
The mean HbA1c level was 9.4±2.3%. The prevalence of skin manifestations was 85.1%; 74.3% of patients had
skin manifestations after they were diagnosed with diabetes, whereas 66.3% of them had a skin disease more than
once. The three skin manifestations were observed included skin infections (15.3%), lipohypertrophy (13.9%), and
foot ulcers (10.3%). There were also skin diseases strongly associated with DM such as thick skin (8.4%), itching
(6.9%), acanthosis nigircans (6.4%), vetilgo and diabetic bullosis (2.9%), necrobosis lipdecorum (1.4%), and others
with different percentages. Skin disorders were quite common at ages from 46 to 60. These disorders were affected
by the chronicity of DM. Infections are the bulk of skin disorders. Therefore, patients should be educated about
blood glucose control as well as skin and foot care.