Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 23: People with diabetes showed statistically significant differences in certain kidney-function markers and electrolyte levels compared with healthy individuals in a comparative cross-sectional study of 300 participants.

The study included 150 patients with diabetes and 150 healthy individuals. Researchers compared several measures of renal function, including urea, uric acid and creatinine, along with serum levels of calcium, sodium, potassium and chloride. They also examined the relationship between random blood glucose levels and the laboratory parameters.

Most demographic characteristics did not differ significantly between the two groups, indicating that the participants were broadly comparable.

However, patients with diabetes had significantly higher mean creatinine and urea levels than healthy participants. Mean creatinine was 0.5926±0.2134 in the diabetes group, compared with 0.5463±0.1284 among healthy participants (p=0.0242).

Mean urea levels were also higher among patients with diabetes, at 25.47±8.986 compared with 22.25±6.639 in the healthy group (p=0.0006).

The findings indicate measurable differences in certain renal markers among people with diabetes. However, researchers cautioned that the absolute differences were relatively small and that statistical significance alone does not establish clinical significance.

Differences were also observed in electrolyte levels. Potassium was higher among patients with diabetes, with mean levels of 4.707±0.5688 compared with 4.527±0.3470 among healthy participants (p=0.0012).

In contrast, sodium levels were lower in the diabetes group, at 137.4±13.42 compared with 144.1±3.496 in the healthy group (p<0.0001). Calcium levels were also slightly lower among patients with diabetes, at 2.397±0.1456 compared with 2.441±0.06213 (p=0.0009).

The researchers also conducted Pearson correlation analysis to assess relationships between random blood glucose and the laboratory measures.

Random blood glucose showed a weak positive correlation with urea (r=0.1713; p=0.0415) and a weak negative correlation with creatinine (r=-0.1623; p=0.0496).

A moderate negative correlation was observed between random blood glucose and sodium (r=-0.3644; p<0.0001), which was the strongest correlation reported in the study.

The authors stressed that these correlations were modest and should not be interpreted as evidence that changes in blood glucose directly caused the observed renal or electrolyte differences.

Binary logistic regression further identified urea, uric acid, sodium and potassium as factors independently associated with diabetes.

Higher urea was associated with greater odds of diabetes, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.0522 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.0166–1.0890 (p=0.0038). Higher potassium was also associated with diabetes, with an OR of 1.8766 (95% CI: 1.0460–3.3667; p=0.0348).

Uric acid showed an inverse association with diabetes, with an OR of 0.6956 (95% CI: 0.5441–0.8894; p=0.0038). Sodium was similarly inversely associated, with an OR of 0.9610 (95% CI: 0.9382–0.9843; p=0.0011).

Overall, the study found statistically significant differences in selected renal and electrolyte parameters between people with diabetes and healthy individuals. However, because the research was cross-sectional, it cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships or determine the direction of the observed associations.

The researchers said further longitudinal studies are required to establish the clinical relevance of these findings and determine whether such laboratory measures could have a meaningful role in monitoring people with diabetes.