DISTRIBUTION OF DIABETES CO-MORBIDITIES AND TREATMENT OUTCOME OF HYPERTENSION AT A TERTIARY LIFESTYLE MEDICAL CENTRE IN ILE-IFE, OSUN STATE NIGERIA: A 5 –YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Owigho Peter Opreh, Bayo Olufunso Adeoye*, Herb Giebel, Siow Leong Fam, Ayodeji David Adeoye, Olateju Adetutu Saliu

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Diabetes is a lifestyle disorder that is of global public health concern. The comorbidities associated with diabetes often predispose to early mortality. Available conventional medications often elicit limited therapeutic activity, except when combined with ideal lifestyle modifications. This study aimed at investigating how diabetes patients responded to intensive lifestyle changes including diet and exercise. Method: This was a five-year retrospective study of diabetic subjects who underwent ten days of intense lifestyle changes. The patient's hospital record was retrieved. Data were analysed using paired t-test on graph pad prism (version 5.0). Results: The most common comorbidity among diabetic patients was hypertension, affecting 86 (54.8%) of them. At the onset of admission to the lifestyle ward, there were 12 (7.6%), 19 (12.1%), 42 (26.8%), and 13 (8.3%) diabetic patients with elevated blood pressure, stage 1, 2, and 3 hypertension, respectively. On discharge, 85 (54.1%) of the patients had normal blood pressure, while 42 (26.8%), 27 (17.2%), and 42 (26.8%) had elevated, stage 1 and 2 hypertension, respectively. The mean fasting blood glucose (FBG) obtained was 13.24 mol/L, body mass index (BMI) was 27.10, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 193.3mmHg, while mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 120.34mmHg. After the lifestyle intervention mean FBG (6.23 mmol/L), BMI (21.73), SBP (118.3 mmHg), and DBP (95.57 mmHg) were all significantly (p < 0.05) lower. Conclusion: The implementation of a whole food plant-based diet and exercise resulted in a considerable remission of diabetes mellitus and its most common comorbidity, hypertension, according to this study.

Keywords: Diabetes, Hypertension, Lifestyle, Exercise, Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) Diet.