Abstract:

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and inflammation, the frequency of which increases with age. The monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) is a recently emerging inflammatory biomarker associated with various diseases. We aimed to investigate the utility of the MHR as a clinically useful inflammation- based marker in determining the severity of DM in older patients. Material and Method: We designed our study in a retrospective, cross-sectional structure. The participants were assessed for eligibility from the population aged over 60 years of diabetic patients who were admitted to the Istanbul Medipol University Hospital endocrinology outpatient clinic between September 1st 2022, and March 1st, 2023. Data were collected from electronic medical records. Age, gender, and laboratory findings were recorded. Result: Overall, 148 older participants (70 females, 78 males, mean age 69.17±5.74 years) were included in the analysis. MHR, white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts were higher, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were lower in patients with inadequate glycemic control (HbA1c ≥7%) (p <0.001, for both of them). There was a moderately strong correlation between HbA1c and MHR (r = 0.611, p <0.001). Lower HDL-C ((OR = 0.88, (95% CI: 0.82–0.94), p < 0.001) (Model 1)) and higher MHR ((OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.27-1.65, p < 0.001) (Model 4)) were independently associated with increased HbA1c. Conclusion: HDL-C and MHR were independent factors in predicting an increased HbA1c in older diabetic patients. Lower HDL-C levels had a more significant role in the severity of predicting increased HbA1c compared to the monocyte counts.

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