Intestinal parasitic infections among diabetes mellitus patients

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood glucose, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among DM patients as well as the risk factors involved in the acquisition of these parasitic infections. A total of 180 individuals were included in this study. The study group consisted of 150 (41 males and 109 females) DM patients attending clinics, and 30 (7 males and 23 females) non-DM individuals served as controls. Stool and blood specimens were obtained from each participant to detect intestinal parasites and to determine hemoglobin concentration using standard techniques. An overall prevalence of 18.7% of intestinal parasitic infections among DM patients was observed in this study. DM status was significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections (odds ratio = 14.192; 95% confidence interval = 0.842, 239.22; p = 0.022). Age and type of toilet significantly (p = 0.047 and p < 0.0001, respectively) affected the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in DM patients. Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, and Entamoeba histolytica were the parasites recovered from DM patients with no parasites detected among non-DM individuals. Routine diagnosis of intestinal parasites is advocated among DM patients.