Complications and the time of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in primary care/Complicações e o tempo de diagnóstico do diabetes mellitus na atenção primária

This article aims to analyze the association between the time of disease and the onset of diabetes mellitus complications and to describe the characteristics of the diabetics' population of a mid-sized city located in the Midwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Cross-sectional study is conducted with 1,320 patients with diabetes mellitus. The data were obtained from the registration system of Hypertensive and diabetic patients and the following variables were evaluated: sociodemographic characteristics, duration of disease and diabetes complications. Among patients who have the diagnosis of the disease for more than 10 years, the percentage of those that present complications 156 is higher than among those with the diagnosis of the disease for less than 10 years 45. The results showed that the onset of diabetes-related complications might be associated with the duration of disease.