Relationship between glycaemic control and lipid profile in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in a low-resource setting

Abstract

Introduction: diabetes mellitus can lead to complications including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) is a test of glycaemic control in T2DM patients, and its association with CVD can be mediated through modulation of risk factors such as dyslipidaemia. It is suggested that correlation of HbA1c with blood lipids may enable its use as a dual marker for glycaemic status and dyslipidaemia. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between glycaemic control and blood lipid concentrations in T2DM patients.

Methods: a cross-sectional study of T2DM patients at Enugu, Nigeria. After obtaining informed consent, questionnaires were administered, and then venous blood was collected for determination of HbA1c and fasting lipid profile. Student T-test was used to compare mean results of two groups and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine relationships. A p-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: fifty-five (55) T2DM patients comprising of 24 females and 31 males, with mean±SD age 57±12 years were studied. Prevalence of patients with poor glycaemic control (HbA1c≥ 7%) was 34 (61.8%). More males (36.4%) than females (25.4%) had poor glycaemic control. There was a positive, statistically significant correlation between HbA1c and TC (r=0.406); Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) (r=0.409); and triglyceride (TG) (r=0.273), p<0.05. Correlation between HbA1c and HDL-C was negative (r=-0.269, p<0.05).

Conclusion: the significant correlation between HbA1c and various lipid parameters may suggest the importance of glycaemic control as well as managing dyslipidaemia in the reduction of risk for CVD in T2DM patients, for which HbA1c may be used to monitor both, thereby reducing cost.