Effect of Serum Triglycerides/HDL Cholesterol Ratio on Aminotransferases and Alkaline Phosphatase in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing, mainly due to the increased prevalence of an inactive lifestyle and obesity; therefore, it can be prevented by lifestyle changes for subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. Type 2 DM is associated with several liver disorders, which are considered part of insulin resistance (IR).

Objectives: This study aimed to correlate the serum triglycerides to the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with the AST, ALT, and ALP enzyme levels in Sudanese patients diagnosed with type 2 DM.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Khartoum State on 122 randomly selected Sudanese patients with type 2 DM. Blood samples were drawn from the participants and tested for triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), AST, ALT, ALP, and HbA1c levels using the Cobas Integra 400 Plus. Triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were used to calculate the TG/HDL ratio.

Results: The study revealed no correlation between the TG/HDL-C ratio and the levels of AST and ALT for all participants (P-value > 0.05). However, there was a moderate positive correlation between the TG/HDL-C ratio and the ALP level in all participants (r = 0.312) (P-value = 0.000).

Although the study revealed that there was no association between the different groups of TG/HDL ratio and the levels of AST and ALT, a significant difference in the level of ALP enzyme existed between patients with TG/HDL ratio ≤ 2 (normal TG/HDL) and patients with a ratio > 2 (high TG/HDL ratio) (P-value < 0.05).