Correlation between glycaemic control and lipid profile in Nigerian Type II diabetic patients

Abstract

Background: Hypercholesterolaemia is known to be frequently associated with diabetes mellitus. Lipid abnormalities in patients with diabetes are likely to play important role in the development of atherogenesis and so are called atherogenic dyslipidaemia. Improved glycaemic control may prevent the appearance and enhance the regression of macrovascular and microvascular complication. It has been noted that improved glycaemic control can alter the serum lipid level. This study demonstrates the effect of glycaemic control in Nigerians with type II diabetes on serum levels of lipid. Methodology: A total of 160 consenting type II diabetic patients were recruited for the study consisting of 49 (30.6%) male and 111 (69.4%) female, while 70 non-diabetics subjects matched for age and sex with the patients were recruited as control consisting of 25 (35.7%) males and 45 (64.3%) females. A total of 5mls of blood sample was collected from each patient in sitting position after an overnight fast from the antecubital vein at the dorsum of the hand. Glucose, Total cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C were estimated. The absorbance of samples and standards were measured against reagent blank. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 15.0) results were expressed as means±SD. Paired sample t-test was used to compare means of results where appropriate, Pearson‘s correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between the variables. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were statistically significant difference when the mean lipid profiles of diabetic subjects were compared with that of controls (p<0.05). Significant elevations were observed in the values of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-C, in diabetic subjects when compared with that of controls. Coronary heart disease risk ratio was statistically significantly different when mean value of subjects is compared with that of controls. Significant positive correlation was observed when total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-c were compared with glycaemic control with r values of 0.613, 0.631 and 0.607 respectively with p-value <0.05 in all. There was also significant negative correlation when coronary heart disease risk ratio was compared with glycaemic control. (r = -0.595 and p-value <0.05). Conclusion: This study has highlighted the fact that type II diabetic patients have a high frequency of atherogenic dyslipidaemia especially for TC, Tg and LDL-C. The study also shows that the poorer the glycaemic control the higher the incidence of dyslipidaemia. It is therefore suggested that along with glycaemic control, physicians should also focus on lipid profiles.