Acute-phase proteins and diabetic indices in type 2 diabetesmellitus and their predictive values

Abstract

Context Diabetes mellitus consists of a group of metabolic disorders that share a common phenotype of hyperglycemia. Chronic systemic subclinical inflammation has also been identified as a driving force for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Iron overload is a risk factor for diabetes. The link between iron and diabetes was first recognized in pathologic conditions such as hereditary hemochromatosis and thalassemia. Aims The research is approached with the idea of detecting any association between basal C-reactive protein (CRP) or serum ferritin levels with one of most valuable diabetic indices which is HbA1c as a clinical trial to establish an inflammatory role responsible to develop insulin resistance. Settings and design This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on T2DM patients who attended the Outpatient Department at Assiut University Hospitals. Patients and methods Totally, 67 participants were enrolled for the study, out of which 47 were cases and 20 were age and sex controls. Fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar, HbA1c, serum ferritin, and CRP were estimated. Statistical analysis used Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 19.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results There is statistically significant decrease in serum ferritin level after 3 months of follow-up and glucose control, which means that serum ferritin would decrease with reducing serum fasting blood sugar and postprandial BS (P < 0.05) compared with CRP. There was no significant difference between CRP before and after the study (r = 0.251; P = 0.042). There was a significant negative correlation between serum ferritin and duration of diabetes (P = 0.034). Conclusion From our study point of view, persistent elevated serum ferritin levels in patients with T2DM tend to exhibit a certain degree of inflammation that, in one way or another, is likely to increase their risk of developing cardiovascular complications or may be have a role in the development of insulin resistance.