ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a syndrome characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and disturbance of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism associated with relative or absolute deficiency of insulin secretion and/or insulin action. Ferritin is the major iron storage protein and plays a key role in iron metabolism. In general population, body iron stores are positively associated with the development of glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes. The aim of the present study was to measure serum ferritin in patients with type 2 diabetes and to study the relationship between serum ferritin, fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, insulin level and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study involved 40 female patients in child bearing period with type 2 diabetes mellitus selected from diabetes and endocrine clinic in Kasr El-Aini Hospital. Twenty healthy, age matched, females were taken as a control group. All subjects were subjected to: History taking, clinical examination and laboratory Investigation including fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin [HbAlc], fasting insulin and serum ferritin. We found that serum ferritin was significantly higher in patients with type 2 DM compared with the control group [p < 0.001] and in patients with type 2 DM ferritin level was positively correlated with fasting blood glucose [p < 0.001], glycated hemoglobin [p < 0.001], fasting insulin level [p < 0.05] and insulin resistance [p < 0.001]