A survey of comorbidity and health behaviors of diabetic patients in an area of Beijing

Objective By investigating the prevalence of comorbidity and health behaviors among diabetes patients in Beijing, to provide reference for effective health management of diabetic patients. Methods Based on a cross-sectional survey of 10 334 diabetic patients managed by a community health information center in Beijing from 2012 to 2014, the data of 10 334 diabetic patients were analyzed systematically. The common diseases investigated included cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, orthopedic diseases, chronic respiratory/pulmonary diseases, tumors, chronic kidney diseases and other chronic diseases disease. At the same time, the health behaviors of diabetic patients were investigated, including diet behavior, exercise, work intensity, traffic mode, smoking and sleeping. Results ⑴ There were 521 patients with simple diabetes and 9 813 patients with comorbidity. The prevalence of comorbidity was 94.96%. ⑵ There were 6 279 patients with one kind of comorbidity, accounting for 63.99%; 2 726 patients with two kinds of comorbidity, accounting for 27.78%; 808 patients with two or more kinds of comorbidity, accounting for 8.23%; among them, there were 6 153 patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular comorbidi-ty, accounting for 62.70%. ⑶ There were significant differences in diet taste preference, whether they often eat unhealthy food, whether the dietary structure is reasonable, intake of tofu and bean products, average daily vegetable, average daily fruit, average daily egg, average daily fish and meat, reduced food intake, regular exercise, exercise mode, duration of each exercise, comprehensive classification of physical activity, other physical exercise, comprehensive score of exercise, working hours per week, walking time to work or shopping, cycling time to work or shopping, transportation for going to work or shopping, walking out in good weather, smoking, sleep difficulties between simple diabetes and comorbidity patients (P<0.05). Conclusions The incidence of diabetic comorbidity is high, among which cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are the most common. There are some differences in diet behavior, exercise, work, transportation and sleep between simple diabetes and comorbidity patients, which may be the cause of comorbidity. Key words: Diabetes mellitus; Comorbidity; Prevalence; Health behavior