Abstract:

Diabetes mellitus is amongst the largest health emergencies of the 21^st century. However studies have reported that a substantial proportion of people with diabetes mellitus had not previously been diagnosed. On the other hand hypertension prevalence has been reported to be on the increase. Hypertension has also been associated with the development of diabetes mellitus. The study sought to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in hypertensive patients attending an outpatient clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe.

A cross sectional study was conducted at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Outpatient Clinic. All hypertensive patients attending the outpatient during the study period were given the information about the study. All hypertensive patients who were previously not diagnosed of diabetes mellitus who consented to participate in the study were consecutively enrolled. A questionnaire was administered and blood samples were collected for Glycosylated hemoglobin analysis. Glycosylated hemoglobin was analysed using a Mindray BS800 Chemistry Analyser.

One hundred and four hypertensive patients were enrolled into the study whose mean age was 60.91(± standard deviation of 14.06) years. Patients with duration of hypertension greater than 10 years constituted 34% (35) of the study population. The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus was 22.1% (23). Among the previously undiagnosed diabetic patients 56.5% (13) were females and 43.5% (10) males.

The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus was found to be 22, 1% among hypertensive patients which is higher than that reported in Kenya but lower than that reported in Uganda. Diabetes mellitus can be highly prevalent in hypertensive patients thus there is need for constant monitoring for the development of diabetes mellitus and further research using a national representative sample.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, pre-diabetes, glycosylated haemoglobin

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