Correlation between glycated hemoglobin HbA1c and serum lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Background: Hyperlipidemia is a common risk factor for diabetes that leads to cardiovascular disease, one of the causes of death of diabetic patients. Theaimof this study was to investigate the association between HbA1c levels and serum lipids in Libyan patients withtype 2 diabetes. Material and methods: The study was conducted in 2019 on 325 patients (174 males, 151 females) with type 2 diabetes referred to a private clinical laboratory in Tripoli, Libya. Blood samples were collected for measurement of HbA1c, fasting blood glucose and serum lipid concentrations. Diabetes was defined according to the American Diabetes Association criteria.The data were analyzed using an independent t-test and Pearson’scorrelation test.Results: The ages of the patients ranged from 40 to 83 years, with a mean of 51.52 ± 14.32 years SD. No significant correlation between HbA1c and age was noted (r=0.011, p=0.063). There was a significant positive correlation betweenHbA1c level and fasting blood glucose (r =0.641, p=0.000), low-density lipoprotein (r = 0.240, p = 0.000), total cholesterol (r = 0.223, p = 0.000) and triglycerides(r=0.140,p 0.067). The correlation between HbA1c and high-density lipoprotein-C was negative but not significant (r= -0.088, p = 0.123). Conclusion: HbA1c could be used as a predictor of dyslipidemia and thus it may serve as anindicator of the development of cardiovascular disease in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus.