Background: Complications due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are a major cause of disability, reduced quality of life and death. Serum uric acid (SUA) may endanger organ damage in DM through endothelial dysfunction. But the data suggestive of whether SUA is also associated with the development of vascular complications in T2DM is scarce, and controversial. The aim of our study is to ascertain the role of elevated SUA in the development of complications in T2DM by evaluating endothelial dysfunction by analysing serum nitric oxide (NO) and high senstivity-CRP (hs-CRP) levels and correlating them with SUA levels in patients of T2DM.
Materials and methods: 100 T2DM patients diagnosed by ADA criteria were taken (group I). Group II (n=100) consisted of healthy controls. Group I was further divided into 2 subgroups, subgroup IA were diabetics with complications and subgroup IB were diabetics without complications. Fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum lipid, serum NO, serum hs-CRP and SUA were determined in all.
Results: Mean SUA in diabetics with complication was higher than that of diabetics without complications and that of controls. UA level in diabetics without complication was significantly higher than that of controls but in normal reference range. Diabetics with complications had decreased level of NO and increased level of hs-CRP as compared to diabetics without complication and controls. There was significant correlation between SUA concentration and hs-CRP. Decrease in serum NO level is associated with increase in SUA, but no direct correlation was found between these parameters. However hs-CRP shows negative correlation with NO.
Conclusion: Diabetics with complications have hyperuricemia and have low levels of serum NO & high levels of hs-CRP. This indicates hyperuricemia inactivates serum NO and decreases its bioavailability, increasing endothelial dysfunction. Thus hyperuricemia should alert clinicians to take therapeutic measures which will help in reducing risk of life threatening complications of T2DM.
