Background: Ferritin is a ubiquitous intracellular protein that reflects body iron stores. It is also a positive acute phase protein and a marker of inflammation. Increased body iron stores have been associated with the development of glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. The present study is carried out to find the association of serum ferritin with fasting blood sugar (FBS) and HbA1c in type 2 diabetic males, and to study the influence of body iron stores on glycaemic control.
Methods: The study included 40 male patients between 25 to 60 years of age, suffering from type 2 diabetes of less than 10 years duration. Serum ferritin was estimated by ELISA kit method, while fasting blood sugar (FBS), haemoglobin (Hb) and HbA1c were estimated by automated method.
Results: High frequency of raised serum ferritin was observed, even though haemoglobin levels were within physiological
limits.HbA1c (p=<0.0001) and FBS (p=0.026) were found to have significant association with serum ferritin levels, and the correlation between serum ferritin and HbA1c was strongly positive (r=0.751, p<0.0001).
Conclusions: There is a significant association between elevated iron stores measured by serum ferritin levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients of type 2 diabetes with increased level of serum ferritin had poor glycaemic control reflected by increased levels of HbA1c.
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2022: 6.012
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