Hyperhomocysteinemia in a population of type 2 diabetics in Senegal

Abstract

The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in a population of type 2 diabetics and to study the relationship between serum homocysteine levels and sociodemographic, clinical and biological characteristics in this population. This is a cross-sectional study involving 100 type 2 diabetic patients. Each patient underwent a routine biological assessment and a total homocysteinemia measurement. The overall prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia is 27% (95% confidence interval : 18.6 to 36.8). The mean serum homocysteine value is 10.7±3.7 μmol/l and it is higher in men (11.5 ± 3.7 μmol/l) than in women (10.4 ± 3.7 μmol/l) with a non-significant difference (p=0.901). We found a positive significant correlation between homocysteinemia and creatinine (p = 0.03) and a negative significant correlation between homocysteinemia and serum HDL cholesterolemia (p=0.01). Mean serum homocysteine levels is significantly higher in hypertensive diabetics subjects than in non-hypertensive patients (p=0.006). The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia is relatively high in type 2 diabetics. This marker should be determined as part of the biological monitoring of these patients.