ORIGINAL ARTICLE Dyslipidemia and its associated factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus Ahmed Tijani Bawah 1 & Richard Darko 2 & Albert Abaka-Yawson 1 & Mohammed Mustapha Seini 3 & Silas Kinanyok 1 & Samuel Adusei 2 Received: 26 September 2019 /Accepted: 8 January 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Background Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor known to be associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This study determined the frequency of lipid abnormalities among type 2 diabetes patients. Methodology A cross-sectional study using a convenient sampling method was conducted among 125 diabetes patients admitted or attending Ho Teaching Hospital in Ho between February 2019 and March 2019. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics and health status of participants. Blood samples were taken from participants after 9–12 h of overnight fasting, and their serum lipid profiles were estimated. Results The frequency of high total cholesterol (TC), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high triglycerides (TG), high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high coronary risk ratio (CR) were 42%, 16%, 3%, 33%, and 78% respectively. The majority of the study participants had low risk atherogenicity, but the frequency of intermediate and high risk atherogenicity was 36% and 22% respectively. Also, most of the study participants were obese. Participants with secondary educational level had the highest frequency of dyslipidemia, while those with no educational background had the least. Conclusion Dyslipidemia was very pronounced in the participants with elevated TC, TG, LDL-C, and low HDL-C supporting previous assertion that people with type 2 diabetes mellitus are prone to the development of lipid abnormalities. Keywords Dyslipidemia . Type 2 diabetes mellitus . Atherogenicity . Coronary risk ratio Introduction Dyslipidemia is the elevation in total cholesterol (TC), low- density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and/or triglycerides, and/or a lowering of the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels which contributes to atherosclerosis. Globally, dyslipidemia is increasing at an alarming rate, and it has been suggested that it emanates from rapid socioeco- nomic development and lifestyle changes (Bekele et al. 2017). Studies have shown that abnormalities in the metabolism of lipoprotein accounts for approximately 50% of the population-attributable risk of developing cardiovascular dis- eases (Yusuf et al. 2004). Dyslipidemia is an important modifiable risk factor for di- abetes and cardiovascular diseases and thereby an important component of the metabolic (vascular) syndrome as a major risk cluster for cardiovascular diseases (Khadke et al. 2015). An improper management of plasma glucose in type 2 diabe- tes mellitus can enhance the insulin resistance and as a matter of fact worsens dyslipidemia, thereby causing the risk of de- veloping cardiovascular disorders to shoot up (Asamoah- boakye et al. 2017). Moreover, rectifying dyslipidemia has been found to reduce the risks of atherosclerotic heart disease among diabetics (Chattanda and Mgonda 2008). Unfortunately, prominence is not given to the control of dyslipidemia as done in managing hyperglycemia in diabet- ic dyslipidemia patients (Chattanda and Mgonda 2008). In Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01205-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Ahmed Tijani Bawah ahmed024gh@yahoo.com 1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, PMB 31 Ho, Ghana 2 Hawa Memorial Saviour Hospital, Box 1, Akim, Eastern Region, Ghana 3 Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Accra, Ghana Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01205-2