Introduction
The article under analysis is written by Lucha-López et al. (2014). It is focused on diabetic patients with excess weight and the risks of having cardiovascular issues. Diabetes is a health issue that is experienced by numerous people all over the world. Today, the severity of this disease is widely discussed by healthcare systems. They even cooperate with governmental bodies to implement those initiatives that can improve the situation. Diabetes affects people’s well-being adversely that is why professionals do their best to educate their patients regarding this issue and provide them with available resources.
Background
A lot of people have type 2 diabetes, which is can be caused by obesity and overweight. If individuals do not do anything to enhance their condition and lose at least some weight, they become at risk of various complications. Cardiovascular issues, for example, are among the most severe and commonly faced ones (Tracey et al., 2016). Being aware of these tendencies, Lucha-López et al. (2014) conducted research, the aim of which was “to analyze the clinical characteristics of a sample of people with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk and establish possible links between disease control, family history, and lifestyle, to improve the quality of interventions” (p. 1).
The connection between the Exposure and the Disease
The researchers managed to reveal that type 2 diabetes was often found in those populations who suffered from obesity or overweight and had a family history of this disease. What is more, the onset of diabetes was earlier in this situation and its symptoms were more critical. Trying to improve their condition and minimalize the adverse effects of this disease, patients take prescribed drugs that include those needed for arterial blood pressure management, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, and antiplatelet medicines. However, those patients that failed to keep to a prescribed diet and lacked physical activity revealed more serious cardiovascular issues and required more drugs than those who do. All in all, professionals revealed that that obesity and overweight cause type 2 diabetes and increase cardiovascular risk especially in those populations who fail to keep to a diet, lack physical activity, and have a family history of diabetes.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the connection between diabetes, overweight, and cardiovascular issues. This method is the most advantageous because it provides an opportunity to compare participants and their characteristics. However, it was not simply a comparative study but also a descriptive one. In this way, the researchers were able not only to speak about the prevalence of disease and related conditions among particular populations but also to explain the causes and consequences associated with them. All in all, the sample included 38 participants, which is a relatively small sample size that limits generalization.
However, it is enough to discuss major tendencies. Professionals obtained all agreements and approvals needed to conduct a study with the human sample. Thus they were able to gather such data as blood pressure, height, weight, and waist circumference. Biochemical analyses were also maintained. Statistical data were analyzed with the help of SPSS, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and the Mann–Whitney U test.
Results
The authors managed to support their hypothesis, as they found out that those diabetic patients who suffer from obesity or overweight also have higher cardiovascular risks. Nevertheless, their condition can be improved if they resort to metabolic control and drug therapy. What is more, Lucha-López et al. (2014) stated that family history also affects the prevalence of this disease because those patients whose relatives suffered from type 2 diabetes are often in poorer condition than others.
The authors did not point to further/future studies in their article, but it can be presupposed that they are needed at least to fill in those gaps that occurred due to the limitations. In this way, researchers should maintain a follow-up study that is based on the information obtained from the randomly selected sample of a larger size so that true population values can be estimated.
Discussion
The article prepared by Lucha-López et al. (2014) was selected for this assignment because it deals with those issues that are on the front burner currently for the whole world. A lot of healthcare professionals and organizations state that obesity and diabetes are among the most critical problems as they affect a lot of people. Even though many interventions to improve their condition have been already implemented, the prevalence of these diseases did not alter greatly (Bahijri et al., 2016). What is more, it is advantageous that the article is focused on cardiovascular risks because issues associated with this system are crucial and often lead to death. As this article discussed the connection between these crucial problems and focused on the possibility to develop more effective interventions, it was selected among the others.
It is beneficial that the article was written and included several tables and figures that improved understanding of the findings. They also made it easier to compare different variables. The article was rather informative as it also included the discussion of diseases related to type 2 diabetes based on US patients. It was also rather authoritative as the researchers supported their claims with the evidence obtained from other sources. However, this article used a voluntarily gathered sample of a small size, which made findings less valuable and required further research.
References
Bahijri, S., Jambi, H., Al Raddadi, R., Ferns, G., & Tuomilehto, J. (2016). The prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in the adult population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A community-based survey.
Lucha-López, M., Lucha-López, A., Vidal-Peracho, C., Tricás-Moreno, J., Estébanez-De Miguel, E., Salavera-Bordás, C., & Hidalgo-García, C. (2014). Analysis of a sample of type 2 diabetic patients with obesity or overweight and at cardiovascular risk: A cross sectional study in Spain. BMC Research Notes, 7(48), 1-8.
Tracey, M., Gilmartin, M., O’Neill, K., Fitzgerald, A., McHugh, S., Buckley, C.,… Kearney, P. (2016). Epidemiology of diabetes and complications among adults in the Republic of Ireland 1998-2015: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 132-145.