Correlation of iron levels with glycemia and microvascular complications among type II diabetes mellitus patients in Najran university hospital

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is influenced by changes in the body’s iron levels. Because iron deficiency anemia is common in diabetes, this study examines the link between iron, glycemic control, and complication in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted from October 2019 to June 2020 at Najran university hospital in the Najran area, Saudi Arabia. All T2DM patients (N = 201) during the study were recruited by simple random sampling. A checklist was completed to extract the study variables from each patient’s medical record. RESULTS: There is a positive poor correlation between hemoglobin (Hb) and diabetic foot (r = 0.186, P < 0.05), but not with other diabetic microvascular complications (i.e., retinopathy, nephropathy, and peripheral neuropathy) or glycemic indicators fasting blood sugar, random blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C (i.e., FBS, RBS, and HbA1C). No link is found between ferritin and glycemic indicators or diabetic microvascular complications. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that particular attention be paid to regular monitoring of iron levels before modifying the treatment plans for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. It raises critical inquiry about the reality of iron role in diabetes mellitus either in pathogenesis or treatment. It recommends accurately assessing body iron status with careful interpretation for better clinical judgment, encouraging large-scale and long-term epidemiological as well as interventional trials examining the effect of lowering iron in controlling glycemia.