Oxidative Stress and Glycaemic Control in Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Enugu, South-East Nigeria

BACKGROUND There is growing evidence that excess generation of highly reactive free radicals, largely due to hyperglycaemia causes oxidative stress, which further exacerbates the development and progression of type 2 diabetes and its complications. OBJECTIVES In this study, the level of oxidative stress was compared with glycaemic control in type 2 diabetic patients. METHOD Fifty confirmed type 2 diabetic patients, aged between 25 and 70 years were used for the study. 20 patients with good glycaemic control served as positive control while 20 apparently healthy non-diabetic age-matched individuals served as negative control. The FBS, MDA and HbA(1) c were determined in fasting blood samples using standard methods. RESULTS Patients with poor glycaemic control had significantly raised MDA and HbA(1)c (P =0.0001) when compared with non diabetics However, those with good glycaemic control only had a significant increase in the MDA when compared to non diabetic. (P =0.0001).).The MDA level when compared to fasting blood sugar (FBS) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA(1)c) showed a positive correlation.( r= 0.77; P = 0.0001 and r=0.69; P = 0.0001 respectively) CONCLUSION This study showed that both glycaemic control and lipid peroxidation are factors to be monitored or evaluated in the management of type2 diabetics to avoid the development of diabetic complications.