Serum ferritin level and associated factors among uncontrolled adult type II diabetic follow-up patients at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Comparative based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Uncontrolled T2DM and its associated consequences nowadays have been a global health crisis, especially for adults. The problem is linked to body iron storage which is indicated by serum ferritin levels. However, no conclusive evidence existed about the association of serum ferritin with the state of glycemic control. This study aimed to assess the level of serum ferritin and associated factors among uncontrolled T2DM patients at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among conveniently selected 156 study participants, who were categorized into three equal groups from October-2 to December-29, 2023 at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College. Pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and diabetes-related information. The laboratory tests were done using an automated chemistry analyzer and IBM-SPSS statistical software (version-27) was utilized for data entry and analysis with a significance level of p<0.05. Result: The mean serum ferritin level was noticeably higher in uncontrolled T2DM patients as compared to controlled T2DM and control groups (p<0.001). It was significantly correlated with HbA1c (r=0.457, p<0.001), FBs (r=0.386, p<0.001), serum iron (r=0.430, p<0.001) and SBP (r=0.195, p=0.047) in T2DM patients. Besides, a multivariate logistic regression model revealed that a rise in HbA1c (AOR=3.67, 95% CI(1.50-8.98), serum iron (AOR=1.02, 95% CI(1.01-1.04), being male (AOR=0.16, 95% CI(0.05-0.57) and having only OHA (AOR=0.26, 95% CI(0.07-0.95) were key associated factors for the elevated serum ferritin among T2DM patients. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that as far as glycemic control is not maintained, T2DM patients had elevated serum ferritin levels which might be related to the existence of long-term hyperglycemia and had a significant positive association with HbA1c and FBs, implying that it could be used as an additional biomarker to predict uncontrolled T2DM patients.