Objective: To determine the most frequent alterations in rhythm and cardiac conduction in patients with type 2 diabetes without previous cardiopathy, and to establish the association of this disease with cardiovascular risk factors.
Material and methods: Subjects with type 2 diabetes, without cardiopathy antecedents were included in the study. Cardiovascular risk factors, body mass index and serum glucose, cholesterol and trygliceride levels were determined. A resting electrocardiogram was recorded. The association between the variables under study and arrhythmia was calculated with a multivariate analysis adjusted by sex.
Results: A total of 199 patients were included: 113 women (56.8%) and 86 men (43.2%). Arrhythmia was registered in 29.1% of the subjects. Anterior hemiblock (AH) and right bundle branch block (RBBB) constituted 75.9% of the identified alterations. Patients with arrhythmia and conduction disorders have higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Appearance of arrhythmia is directly related to aging (r = 0.75, p = 0.01). The multivariate analysis adjusted by sex revealed that hypercholesterolemia and aging are significantly associated with arrhythmia and conduction alterations: OR 1.5, CI 95%, 1.1-4.6, p < 0.05 and OR 1.3, CI 95% 1.0-5.2, p < 0.05, respectively.
Conclusions: The most frequent arrhythmia and conduction disorders in type 2 diabetes are AH and RBBB. Hypercholesterolemia and aging are the strongest and most frequent factors associated to the presence of this disease.