Analysis of diabetic comorbidities and their interrelationships in 5227 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes

Aim: To explore the distribution and correlation of comorbidities in Chinese adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) by using real-world clinical medical record data. Methods: This study is a retrospective study, screening data from the previous medical records using integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of diabetes. In this study, descriptive statistic, association rules, complex network and other data mining methods were used to extract and analyze the associated data of diabetes mellitus comorbidities. Results: A total of 5227 clinical records of patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study, and the top 10 comorbidities were identified. It was found that there was a correlation among concomitant diseases, and hypertension was most strongly associated with other concomitant diseases (degree > 248). It was also found that the distribution of comorbidities was closely related to age, and the distribution showed a certain rule, which is consistent with the understanding of the pathogenesis evolution of diabetes in TCM. Conclusion: Comorbidities of diabetes show associations with different intensity, and there are obviously characteristic disease groups in different age stages. Based on the results of this study, patients with diabetes can purposefully improve their awareness of preventing the related diseases. And it also provides useful reference for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its associated diseases.