The relationship between packed cell volume (PCV), fasting plasma
glucose (FPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbAI) was investigated in 40
diabetic patients (22 males and 18 females) and 20 apparently healthy
controls (12 males and 18 females). Among the control subjects the FPG
and HbA1 were significantly higher in the female than male subjects (P
< 0.001). This gender differences was not found in diabetic patients
(P < 0.05). While all the control subjects have FPG and HbA1 level
within normal range (75- 115mg/dl and 5 – 8 %, respectively), 15
(38%) of the diabetic patients had FPG level within normal and only 5
(13%) had HbA1 level within the normal range. The FPG and HbA1 values
were however, significantly higher in diabetic patients (139.34 ±
7.06 and 12.09 ± 2.80) than control subjects (76.40 ± 1.24
and 6.24 ± 0.51), respectively (P < 0.001). The PCV in controls
correlated significantly with FPG and HbA1 (P < 0.001) while the FPG
correlated significantly with HbA1 (P < 0.001). There was however
only a significant correlation between FPG and HbA1 in the diabetic
subjects. Bland Ahman graph shows a good agreement between FPG and
HbA1, in both test and control subjects. These results show that PCV
and gender factors have significant influence on FPG and HbA1 level in
control subjects and were insignificant in diabetic patients. FPG and /
or HbA1 are important and agreeable indices for assessment of glucose
metabolism. Furthermore, there was an evidence of poor glycemic control
in diabetic patients investigated in this study, probably due to poor
compliance culture of the patients or inability to procure recommended
drugs
