Levels of inflammatory markers and their correlation with dyslipidemia in diabetics

ABSTRACT

To measure the levels of inflammatory markers [serum ferritin and high sensitivity C-reactive protein] and dyslipidemia in diabetics and to find a correlation between these inflammatory markers and dyslipidemia. Comparative study. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from March 2007 to February 2008. The study included 30 known type-2 diabetic patients randomly inducted from diabetic clinics of Rawalpindi. Healthy volunteers [n=30] having blood glucose less than 6 mmol/L were inducted as the comparison group. Fasting blood samples of diabetics and controls were analyzed for glucose, glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c], lipid profile, high sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] and serum ferritin. The diabetic subjects had significantly higher levels of glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, hs-CRP and ferritin as compared to normal subjects [p < 0.001], while the level of HDL cholesterol was significantly lower in diabetics [p < 0.001]. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between the inflammatory markers, hs-CRP and ferritin, and the parameters of dyslipidemia i.e. total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides [p<0.001 r=0.72] except for HDL cholesterol, which had an insignificant negative correlation with the inflammatory markers [p>0.05 r = -0.10]. Low-grade inflammation exists in Diabetes mellitus and it is positively related with dyslipidemia [except for HDL cholesterol] in diabetics