Antioxidant status in diabetic and non-diabetic senile patients, with cataract or cardiovascular complications

OBJECTIVE: To assess the total antioxidant status in diabetic and non-diabetic senile patients, with cataract or cardiovascular complications, and without complications.

METHODS: A comparative study on 186 senile patients and control subjects was carried out from March 2004 to November 2006 on patients from Ziauddin University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Among them, 33 were diabetic patients without any clinical evidence of chronic diabetic complications, 32 with cardiovascular complications, 30 non-diabetic patients with cardiovascular complications, 30 diabetic patients with cataract, 30 non-diabetic patients with cataract, and 31 apparently normal, age, gender, and weight matched control subjects were investigated. All patients were selected on clinical grounds.

RESULTS: Total antioxidant status was significantly decreased (p<0.001) in all diabetic patients with and without complications, and non-diabetic patients with same complications (155 patients) as compared with control subjects (31 subjects). Fasting plasma glucose was increased (p<0.001) in all diabetic patients with and without complications (95 patients), and correlated significantly with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and serum fructosamine concentrations. Fasting plasma glucose, HbA1C, and serum fructosamine were not different in diabetic patients with and without complications. Fasting plasma glucose, HbA1C, serum fructosamine, and total serum protein were not different in non-diabetic patients with the same complications, as compared with control subjects.

CONCLUSION: Total antioxidant status is decreased in diabetic and non-diabetic senile patients with the same complication as compared with control subjects. Some other factors may be responsible for decrease antioxidant status.