Evaluation of serum folic acid level in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background and objectives: Type-2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder. Diabetic patients with low folic acid, high homocysteine levels, have a higher chance of developing coronary heart disease based on previous studies. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the serum levels of folic acid and homocysteine in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients and their association with insulin resistance. Methods: This cross-sectional study has been conducted on 138 participants from February 2nd 2022 to August 3rd 2022, at Azadi teaching hospital/clinical biochemistry department- Duhok, Kurdistan region, Iraq. The participants were composed of two groups, 70 patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus, and 68 apparently healthy control. Both groups have been investigated for serum folic acid level, serum glucose, serum insulin, serum homocysteine, glycosylated hemoglobin, and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance. Results: The mean age for type 2 diabetic patients was (51.24 years) with males predominant (64.29%). Type 2 diabetic patients showed a low level of mean serum folic acid concentrations (2.73 ng/ml) in comparison with healthy subjects (5.91 ng/ml) (p<0.001), and the mean serum homocysteine concentration was (13.493 ?mol/L) among type 2 diabetic patients compared to healthy subjects (10.041 ?mol/L) (p<0.001). Significant correlation was found between serum folic acid and serum homocysteine levels, and glycosylated hemoglobin (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus were associated with low mean serum folic acid levels and high mean serum homocysteine levels.