Correlation Between Hba1c Levels And Untraditional Lipid Panels In Prediabetics

Abstract

Background: Prediabetes is a condition where glucose metabolism is disrupted; it is defined by high blood glucose levels that are below the diabetes diagnostic cutoff.

Aim: To investigate the correlation among HbA1c levels and lipid panel parameters in individuals with prediabetes.

Patients and Methods: This prospective cross-sectional research was performed on 500 individuals aged between 18 and 65 years with confirmed prediabetes.

Results: The analysis demonstrated significant positive associations among HbA1c as well as cholesterol (ρ = 0.534, p < 0.001), triglycerides (ρ = 0.460), LDL (ρ = 0.375), in addition to VLDL (ρ = 0.310). A negative association was identified between HbA1c and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), suggesting that elevated HbA1c levels corresponded with diminished HDL levels. Furthermore, Group 2 (HbA1c 6.0%–6.4%) had a markedly elevated LDL/HDL ratio, cholesterol/HDL ratio, and triglyceride/HDL ratio in comparison to Group 1 (HbA1c 5.4%–5.9%). The AUC values indicated that total cholesterol had the highest predictive value (AUC = 0.802), followed by low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (AUC = 0.701) and triglycerides (AUC = 0.731). HDL exhibited the lowest predictive value (AUC = 0.437).

Conclusion: We concluded that cases with higher HbA1c levels (6.0%–6.4%) had significantly worse lipid profiles, specifically in terms of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, LDL, VLDL, LDL/HDL ratio, cholesterol/HDL ratio, and triglyceride/HDL ratio compared to those with lower HbA1c (5.4%–5.9%) within the prediabetic range. Untraditional lipid panels may be considered promising biomarkers to predict progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).