Association of Hematological Parameters and Diabetic Neuropathy: A Retrospective Study

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a common complication of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and is characterized by persistent inflammation. Hematological parameters have emerged as a novel marker for detecting chronic inflammatory conditions, including diabetes.

We aim to examine the association between HbA1c levels, which can indicate the presence of diabetic neuropathy, and hematological parameters to explore the possibility of using hematological parameters as a new indicator for DN in T2DM patients.

This was a retrospective study of 768 (483 males and 284 females) medical records of adult T2DM patients with or without neuropathy who attending the outpatient neuromuscular clinic at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital from January 2016 to December 2021.

The results showed significant increases in HbA1c levels (p=0.000), lymphocyte levels (p=0.028), and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p=0.011). In the T2DM group, HBA1C levels were found to be positively correlated with age (r=0.306, p=0.000), neutrophil (NEUT) (r=0. 287, p=0.000), platelet (PLT) (r=0. 148, p=0.039), and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (r=0.306193, p=0.0007), and negatively correlated with gender (r=-0.306193, p=0.0007). In the T2DMN group, HBA1C levels showed a positive correlation with hemoglobin (HB) (r=0.084, p=0.045), PLT (r=0.087, p=0.037), and PLT/mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) ratio (PLT/MCH ratio) (r=0.12, p=0.004), and a negative correlation with age (r=-0.204, p=0.000), gender (r=-0.086, p=0.041), weight (WT) (r=-0.113, p=0.007), Body Surface Area (BSA) (r=-0.09, p=0.031), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (r=-0.292, p=0.000), and MCH (r=-0.186, p=0.000).

Our study found a significant association between HbA1c, a biomarker for diabetic neuropathy, and various hematological parameters (HB, MCV, MCH, PLT, PLT/MCH ratio) in T2DMN patients. By effectively controlling and monitoring these variables, it may be feasible to prevent or delay the progression of peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients. However, further research is needed to validate these findings.