Journal of Blood Medicine (Jul 2022)
Peripheral Cytopenia and Its Associated Factors in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients, Northwest Ethiopia
Abstract
Melak Aynalem,1 Fasil Getu,2 Tiruneh Adane1 1Department of Hematology and Immunohematology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Melak Aynalem, Department of Hematology and Immunohematology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, Tel +251912692619, Email [email protected]: Hematological abnormalities are linked with diabetes mellitus (DM) and play a major role in diabetes-related micro- and macro-vascular complications. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the magnitude of peripheral cytopenia and associated factors in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2021 at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. A total of 357 T2DM participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A total of 3 mL of venous blood samples were collected using the vacutainer method for the complete blood count (CBC). A univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used to investigate the association between dependent and independent variables. P-value ˂0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The magnitude of cytopenia, bicytopenia, and pancytopenia were 21% (95% CI: 17.1, 25.53), 1.1% (95% CI: 0.44, 2.85), and 0.56% (95% CI: 0.01, 1.12), respectively. Furthermore, the magnitudes of anemia, leucopenia, and thrombocytopenia were 8.7% (95% CI: 6.18, 12.06), 10.9% (95% CI: 8.09, 14.59), and 5.3% (95% CI: 3.43, 8.16), respectively. Being male (AOR: 3.23; 95% CI: 1.43, 7.56), lack of exercise (AOR: 2.70; 95% CI: 1.137, 6.43), and never married (AOR: 3.90; 95% CI: 1.248, 12.18) were all associated with anemia.Conclusion: This study showed that T2DM causes disturbances in the hematological parameters and leads to a mild level of cytopenia. It is, therefore, suggested that hematological abnormalities, especially cytopenia, should be monitored and controlled on a regular basis in T2DM patients for better prognosis and quality of life.Keywords: peripheral cytopenia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Gondar, Ethiopia
