RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The role of the family doctor in fundamental in the prevention of diabetic complications, because these complications will be minor if there is good glycemic control during life. OBJECTIVE: Determine the frequency of late complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) among IMSS-insured population in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, México. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis included 252 diabetic patients selected by a systematized and stratified randomized sampling including all patient files available in the Family Medicine Unit 1 in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. The information was taken from the clinical charts got by family physicians and specialists. We used descriptive statistics and correlation of Pearson looking for the association between glicemia's level and enough time to produce complications. RESULTS: Arterial hypertension was found in 168 cases (67%), hypertriglyceridemia in 148 (59.4%), neuropathy in 106 (42.6%), hypercholesterolemia in 89 (35.7%), retinopathy in 69 (27.5%), nephropathy in 51 (20.5%), diabetic foot in 27 (10.8%), ischemic cardiopathy in 25 (10%), cerebral thrombosis in 11 (4.4%). The period between DM diagnosis and the appearance of complications was 3.2 to 13.1 years. The correlations were high and significant in every complication. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of DM complications in this study was very high, with an increasing tendency of developing complications throughout the time.