Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Benghazi, Libya

Abstract

Diabetes is becoming a major chronic disease burden all over the world. Little is known about the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in them. The aim of this study was to determine this prevalence in type 2 diabetes mellitus in Benghazi, Libya. A cross sectional case control study recruited two hundred type 2 diabetics from Benghazi diabetic center and one hundred non-diabetic individuals which served as control group was taken from Benghazi medical center and Elhiaa clinic .Their ages ranged between 18 to 55 years with and without diarrhea between January and December 2016. Socio demographic characteristics were taken during the interview. Fresh stool specimens were collected and processed, and data was analyzed. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was higheramong diabetic patients (40.0%) than amongnon diabetic patients (16.0%).Specifically, the following intestinal parasites were highly prevalent in diabetic subjects Entamoeba coli (10.5%), Cryptosporidium parvum (8.5%), while in control group Entamoeba histolytica (10%), Ascaris Lumbricoides (3%) were the most isolated parasite. There was a significant relationship between prevalence of parasite and diarrhea (p=0.001), education (p=0.000), single and multiple infections (p=0.001). Relation was not significant between parasitic infections with sex and age in all sample (p=0.203, p=0.56) respectively .The present study emphasizes the necessity of increasing awareness among clinicians regarding the occurrence of intestinal parasites at higher prevalence in type 2 diabetic patients.