Is Fibrinogen and D-dimer Levels Predictors for Cardiovascular Risk in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?

ABSTRACT Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in which patients are unable to regulate glucose metabolism. It is often associated with cardiovascular diseases due to some coagulation and haemostatic changes in the affected individuals. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine any possible relationships between some coagulation parameters and cardiovascular risks in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional prospective study was conducted among 50 diabetic patients and 20 apparently healthy individuals randomly selected. The socio-demographic and other data were obtained from each participant using structured questionnaire. 7mls of blood was collected by venipuncture out of which 2mls was dispensed into EDTA container for determination of platelet count using Mythic 18 haemoautoanalyzer and the remaining 5mls was dispensed into sodium citrate container for prothrombin time test, partial prothrombin time test, fibrinogen assay and D-dimer assay. The prothrombin time and partial prothrombin time tests were done by manual method, fibrinogen assay by Clauss method and D-dimer assay by ichroma method. Basal metabolic index (BMI) of the subjects was also obtained. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 software, results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation; while the relationship between variables were obtained using independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation. The level of significance was set at (p<0.05). Ethical approval was sought and obtained from our institution’s ethical committee and all participants gave informed consent. Results: The results showed statistical difference between the diabetic and control groups (p