Comparison of pulse pressure between obese and non-obese type II diabetics

Objective: To compare the pulse pressure (PP) values between obese and non-obese type II diabetics. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted at Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from April 1 to August 30, 2017. Patients who were type II Diabetic and were greater than age 40 were selected. They were then divided into obese and non-obese category based on their BMI. Their blood pressure and pulse pressure determined. Results: Out of 70 patients, 28 (40%) were obese and 42 (60%) non-obese. There was no significant difference between the pulse pressures of the two groups (p=0.626). Mean BMI of the two categories was significantly different (p<0.01), the means of the Diastolic (DBP) and Systolic Blood Pressures (SBP) were not significantly different. Conclusions: Obesity does not always lead to a raised PP; rather, age has a stronger influence on it. Moreover, while considering wide pulse pressure gap, hypertension must be taken into account.