HBA1C as a predictor of dyslipidemia in Algerian type 2 diabetic patients

Background and Aims: The aim of our study was to test whether HbA1c can serve as a predictor of dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: 450 type 2 diabetic patients (165 males, 285 females), mean age of 58.7±9.9 years were included in this study. Venous blood samples were collected from all patients; serum was analyzed for HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein-C (LDL-C). LDL-C/HDL-C and TC/HDL-C risk ratio were also calculated. For the data evaluation, Pearson's correlation coefficient and independent samples t-test were used. Statistical significance was defined by a probability level of p < 0.05. Results: 399 (88.66%) of our patients had dyslipidemia. Low HDL-C was the most common form of dyslipidemia, observed in 311 patients (69.11%). Hypertriglyceridemia was found in 184 (40.88%) and elevated LDL-C in 229 (50.88%) patients. Values of HbA1c >7.0 % showed significant correlation with TC, LDL-C, TG, LDL-C/HDL-C and TC/HDL-C risk ratio, as compared to patients with HbA1c ≤ 7.0% (p<0.05 for all). HDL-C levels didn't differ between the two groups (p= 0.322). Conclusions: The study suggests the usefulness of HbA1c as a predictor of dyslipidemia for screening of type 2 diabetic patients at high risk of cardiovascular diseases.