Comparative Evaluation of Plasma Lipid Profile and Electrolytes in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Individuals Attending Healthcare Checkup in Everight Laboratory in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high blood sugar which poses a serious challenge to public health globally. The measurement of blood sugar levels, serum lipid profiles, and electrolytes are essential in determining one's vulnerability to developing diabetic-related complications such as cardiovascular diseases.

Aim: This was a comparative cross-sectional study designed to assess the dyslipidemia and electrolyte imbalance status of diabetic individuals attending routine healthcare checkups in Everight Diagnostic and Laboratory Services Limited, Owerri branch, using plasma lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins and low-density lipoproteins) and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate) as markers.

Methodology: A total of 120 participants consisting of 60 diabetics and 60 non-diabetic individuals were pooled for this study. From both groups, plasma samples upon centrifugation were used for the analyses of glucose, Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol using Erba XL-200 auto biochemistry analyzer, and plasma Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Chloride (Cl-), and Bicarbonate (HCO3-) using Audicom (AC9900) ion selective electrode (ISE) analyzer. Statistical analysis was carried out using version 20.0 and p- values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The demographic characteristics of the study population show 53% women, 47% men, and average age of 51.28. The fasting plasma glucose level of diabetic subjects (175.96 ± 91.62 mg/dL) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the non-diabetic group (99.54 ± 11.50 mg/dL). More so, there were significant differences (p<0.05) between levels of TC (212.9 ± 56.65 mg/dL), TG (165.61 ± 89.05 mg/dL), and LDL-C (130. 59 ± 47.18 mg/dL) amongst diabetic individuals when compared with the levels of TC (169.87 ± 33. 57 mg/dL), TG (98.14 ± 39.14 mg/dL), and LDL (100.57 ± 27.78 mg/dL) of non-diabetic participants. Conversely, there was no significant difference when the plasma levels of HDL-C (52.78 ± 19.10 mg/dL), Na+ (136.93 ± 3.14 mmol/L), K+ (4.11 ± 0.54 mmol/L), HCO3- (22.03 ± 4.66 mEq/L) and Cl- (101.09 ± 4.33 mmol/L) of test subjects were compared with that of control individuals HDL-C (53.46 ± 15.04 mg/dL), Na+ (137.11 ± 3.37 mmol/L), K+ (4.17 ± 0.45 mmol/L), HCO3- (22.27 ± 3.55 mEq/L) and Cl- (94.52 ± 10.78) (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The results of our study shows significant alteration of fasting lipid parameters amongst diabetics. This suggests that diabetic individuals are associated with dyslipidaemia, which predisposes them to cardiovascular risks.