ABSTRACT
Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is becoming one of themajor health problems worldwide. Especially in South EastAsia, type 2 diabetes has gained critical significance. Asprediabetes prevalence is increasing worldwide, it has becomean important concern to prevent diabetes at an early stage inBangladesh.Objectives: Estimation of serum zinc level and establishmentof its relation with glycemic status in individuals with prediabetes.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional studyencompassed 126 (age: 35.09±9.96 years, mean ± SD; Sex:16/110, M/F) subjects with prediabetes and 126(age:29.08±9.28 years, mean ± SD; Sex: 22/104, M/F) healthynondiabetic controls from the out-patient department ofEndocrinology, BSMMU consecutively. Serum zinc wasmeasured by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry.Height, weight, waist circumference, acanthosis nigricans,hypertension, SGPT& serum creatinine were recorded asconfounding variables.Results: Serum zinc level in persons with prediabetes waslower than that in control (0.76±0.01 vs. 0.78±0.01mg/L,M±SEM, p=0.28). There was statistically significant differencefor zinc level in gender groups (M vs. F: 0.84±0.02 vs.0.75±0.01 mg/L, M±SEM, p<0.001) and monthly family incomegroups (p=0.02). Also zinc level was statistically similar amongglycemic status groups apart from zinc level in between controland combined glucose intolerance (CGI) groups (control vs.CGT: 0.78±0.01 vs. 0.72±0.02mg/L, M±SEM, p=0.03). Amongcases comparisons between groups with or without risk factorslike: smoking (0.72±0.03 vs. 0.76±0.10 mg/L, p=0.42),smokeless tobacco (0.73±0.03 vs. 0.76±0.01mg/L, p=0.46),hypertension (0.80±0.03 vs. 0.75±0.01 mg/L, p= 0.14), familyhistory of DM (0.75±0.02 vs. 0.77±0.02mg/L, p=0.52), familyhistory of CVD (0.74±0.02vs.0.77±0.01mg/L,p=0.28), overweight (0.76±0.01 vs.0.74±0.05mg/L, P=0.59), waistcircumference (0.75±0.01 vs. 0.79±0.04mg/L, p=0.40) andacanthosis nigricans (0.75±0.02 vs. 0.76±0.02mg/L, p=0.70),showed no statistically significant difference. None of thevariables like age (r= -0.02, p=0.19), BMI (r= 0.14, p=0.12),FPG (r= -0.05, p=0.60) and PG 2h after 75g glucose (r=0.10,p=0.28), HbA1c (r=0.04, p=0.64), serum creatinine (r=0.01,p=0.87) showed significant relationship with the level of zincexcept SGPT which showed significant relation with zincamong cases (r= 0.28, p=0.002) and among all participants(r=0.17, p=0.008) but not in control group (r=0.07, p=0.43).Conclusion: It is concluded that persons with prediabetes hadserum zinc level within normal limit and there was found nostatistically significant relationship between HbA1c and zinc