Abstract
Objective:
To analyze the association between the time of disease and the onset of diabetes mellitus complications and to describe the characteristics of the diabetics' population of a mid-sized city located in the Midwest of the state of Minas Gerais.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study conducted with 1320 patients with diabetes mellitus. The data were obtained from the registration system of Hypertensive and diabetic patients and the following variables were evaluated: sociodemographic characteristics, duration of disease and diabetes complications.
Results:
Among patients who have the diagnosis of the disease for more than 10 years, the percentage of those that present complications 156 (32.2%) is higher than among those with the diagnosis of the disease for less than 10 years 45 (12.1%).
Conclusion:
The results showed that the onset of diabetes-related complications might be associated with the duration of disease.
Keywords
Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes complications; Self care; Primary health care; Family health strategy