Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Diabetic Patients in Tertiary Care Hospital

Background and Aims. This study was conducted to investigate intestinal parasitic infections among diabetes patients compared to nondiabetic (control) individuals and examine the intensity of parasitosis in both groups. Even though diabetes poses a risk for parasitic infections, similarly, few recent studies suggest that parasitic infections, especially toxoplasmosis, and cysticercosis affecting pancreatic cells, can cause a decrease in insulin secretion, thus leading to diabetes. A retrospective study was carried out to find intestinal parasite infections among diabetics and nondiabetics in tertiary care hospitals. The records were collected from Microbiology Laboratory for five years. Out of 625 patients included in the study, two hundred twenty-seven (36.7%) were diabetic. Of these, most of the intestinal infections were caused by Hookworm (26.58%), followed by Blastocystis hominis (23.2%), and Entamoeba histolytica (12.23%). The risk factors involved in increased intestinal parasitosis were HIV and anemia. The most common parasite isolated among HIV patients was Isospora belli (30.23%). In anemic patients, Hookworm (4.04%) was the most frequently isolated parasite. This study also highlights the risk factors for acquiring intestinal parasites in diabetic patients, especially among patients with other comorbidities such as HIV.