Assessment of Zinc Level on Type 2 Diabetic patients in Sana’a City, Yemen. Uni-center Experience. Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a common public health problem with high morbidity and mortality. One of the factors that may affect the morbidity and mortality of diabetes mellitus is zinc level. This study assessed the relation between zinc level and diabetic control and its complications.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2021 to June 2022 on 149 diabetic patients on the main diabetic center in Sana'a, Yemen (Dr. Zayed Atef center). Collected data contained demographic characters, diabetic history and the level of serum zinc for each participant. Zinc level was tested using BIO SYSTEMS BTS-350 spectrophotometer using ZINC solution. Data was analyzed by SPSS. Test was considered to be significant on p-value<0.05.

Results: Out of 149 patients included in this study, the majority were female (51.7%), aged less than 50 years (50.3%), had low income (61.7%), were overweight (58.4%), had DM more than 5 years (51.7%), used oral anti-diabetic drugs (78.5%). Zinc deficiency was seen in the majority of patients (51%), aged over 50 years (51.3%), females (56.6%) and among overweight patients (53.9%). The majority of patients were nonsmokers. Nutritional status didn't show a relation with the serum zinc level (Vegetable intake (p = 0.218), fish (p-value = 0.096), beans (p = 0.465) and ginger (p = 0.645)). There was no relation between zinc and diabetic complications (hospitalization, ischemic heart disease, renal, liver disease, diabetic foot, lung, thyroid, neurological and ophthalmological disease) with non-significant p-value. Glycemic control determined by HbA1C showed no statistical significance with serum zinc (p = 0.207), as lipid profile, liver and renal function tests.

Conclusions: Low zinc level is observed among diabetic females, patients aged over 50 years and overweight patients. Negative relation is noted between zinc and all variables. We recommend further study for evaluation of relation with taking a large sample.