SAT-LB114 Metabolic Profile Changes in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus After Hurricane Maria: A Retrospective Case Series

Background: Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. We compared the metabolic profile of patients with diabetes before and after the hurricane. Methods: A retrospective review of 265 patients with diabetes evaluated at our Endocrinology Clinics 6 months before (March 20, 2017- September 19, 2017) and after the hurricane (October 2, 2017 – September 30, 2018) was performed to compare changes in A1C, fasting blood glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body weight, and body mass index. Results: A total of 374 patients with diabetes were evaluated before the hurricane, of which 71% returned to the clinics after the hurricane. Although there was a significant decrease in body weight, there were no significant changes in the metabolic profile of patients or groups defined by gender, age or diabetes type. Conclusions: No significant changes were seen in the metabolic profiles of patients with diabetes before and after the hurricane, which might be partially explained by their weight loss. These results differ from similar studies that show a negative health impact on diabetes management after a natural disaster. However, 29% of these patients did not return for evaluation, which may underestimate the full impact of the hurricane. Factors such as death, financial difficulties, lack of transportation, emigration, and access to health care may contribute to this rate of no-return. Further studies that assess these factors are needed. Acknowledgment: This project is supported by Award Number Grants 5S21MD000242 and 5S21MD000138 from the NCMHD-NIH.