Role of serum free fatty acids in determining severity of diabetic nephropathy: A case control study

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: The Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is a result of impaired renal function in Type 2 diabetes. At the onset of diabetes, microvascular complication increases due to accumulation of free fatty acids (FFA) causing renal damage. A study was conducted to estimate the concentration of serum FFA causing severity of diabetic nephropathy.
 
 Materials and Methods: 90 Type 2 diabetic subjects and 30 study controls (age group 35 to 65 years) were selected from the medicine OPD of S N Medical College and HSK Hospital, Bagalkot. Based on the presence of microalbuminuria, the 90 Type 2 diabetic patients were equally divided in to 3 groups, named as stage I to stage III. The serum FFA was estimated by ELISA method in these three groups and control subjects. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 19 utilizing unpaired “t” test for quantitative data and Pearson’s correlation tests.
 
 Results: The estimated serum FFA levels in stage I to III was found to be higher and highly significant as compared to control (p=0.001). We find the best cut off value of serum FFA was 4.75 mmol/L, causing severity of diabetic nephropathy. The area under the curve (AUC) is 0.92 with the specificity of 86%, sensitivity 89% and the diagnostic accuracy was found to be of 87%.
 
 Conclusion: Serum free fatty acid levels were higher in diabetic nephropathy subjects, which could be used as diagnostic marker for the severity of renal damage with cut off value of 4.75 mmol/L.