Prevalance of Anemia in Type 2 Diabetic Patients and the Role of Nephropathy

Anemia is a common problem in diabetic patients, who usually suffer from a greater degree and severity of anemia based on their level of renal impairment, compared to non diabetic patients. This study investigates the prevalence of anemia in type 2 diabetic patients and aims to determine the role of different stages of nephropathy in development of anemia in these patients. Methods and Materials: For this study, 1962 outpatients, with type 2 diabetes were selected. A full blood count and iron indices were obtained for all patients. Anemia was defined as Hemoglobin<13g/lit in males and <12 g/lit in females. The correlation of anemia with other variables including sex, age, duration of diabetes, fasting blood sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, glumerolar filtration rate, albuminuria, uric acid and metabolic syndrome was identified with multivariate logistic regression analysis. In males 9.2% and among females 10.4% of patients had anemia. The prevalence of elevated albuminuria (micro or macroalbuminuria) was 38. 1%. Of our patients, 8.1% had moderate (creatinine clearance <60 ml/min/ 1. 73 m2) and 31. 4% had mild (CCr= 60-90) renal impairment. Patients with moderate renal impairment had significantly higher levels of anemia than patients with mild renal failure (30% Vs. 9%, p<0.001). Patients with diabetes and macroalbuminuria were also likely to have more anemia than patients with microalbuminuria (32.4% Vs. 8.4%, p<0.001) also patients with microalbuminuria were also more likely to have anemia than patients without elevated albuminuria (8. 4% vs. 5. 7%, p<0. 001). Anemia has a high prevalence in type 2 diabetic patients. Any degree of renal impairment and albuminuria are risk factors for anemia in such patients.