Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Dec 2021)
Evaluation of Red Blood Cell Parameters as a Biomarker for Long-Term Glycemic Control Monitoring Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Southwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
Misganaw Asmamaw,1 Tariku Sime,2 Kumsa Kene,2 Minale Fekadie Baye,2 Muluken Teshome,3 Belay Zawdie2 1Division of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia; 2Division of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; 3Division of Physiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Misganaw AsmamawDivision of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, EthiopiaTel +251967153508Email [email protected]: The main aim of this study was to assess red blood cell parameters as a biomarker for long-term glycemic monitoring among T2 DM patients.Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study through a consecutive sampling technique was conducted among 124 T2 DM patients at the chronic illness follow-up clinic of Jimma Medical Center (JMC) from July 27 to August 31, 2020. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and clinical-related data. Five milliliters of the blood specimen were collected from each eligible T2 DM patient. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and red blood cell parameters were determined by Cobas 6000 and DxH 800 fully automated analyzers, respectively. Data were entered into EpiData software version 3.1 and exported to SPSS 25 version for analysis. Independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to address the research questions. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of study participants was 51.84± 11.6 years. Moreover, 60.5% of T2 DM patients were in poor glycemic control. There was a significant mean difference between good and poor glycemic controlled T2 DM patients in red blood cell count (4.79± 0.5 vs 4.38± 0.8), hemoglobin (14.13± 1.4 vs 13.60± 1.6), mean corpuscular volume (89.52± 4.7 vs 92.62± 7.5), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (29.63± 1.6 vs 30.77± 2.9), and red cell distribution width (13.68± 1.1 vs 14.63± 1.2) respectively. Red blood cell count was inversely correlated (r=− 0.280, p=0.002) with HbA1c while mean corpuscular volume (r=0.267, p=0.003), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (r=0.231, p=0.010), and red cell distribution width (r= 0.496, p=0.000) were positively correlated with level of HbA1c.Conclusion: Red cell count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and red cell distribution width could be useful indicators to monitor the glycemic status of T2 DM patients instead of HbA1c, though large prospective studies should be considered.Keywords: T2 DM, hyperglycemia, HbA1c, red blood cell parameters
