Background: The pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus (DM) has been related to the enzyme chitotriosidase (CHIT1). The increasing amount of research demonstrating that CHIT1 levels rise in pathological conditions like atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, acute ischemic stroke, cerebrovascular dementia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and osteolytic processes indicates its crucial role in the development and complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study is evaluation of CHIT1 serum in patients with type 2 diabetes for its role as early predictive marker for vascular complications.
Methods: On 60 type 2 DM patients, both with and without vascular problems (diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy), this prospective cohort study was done. Three groups of participants were created: Group I consisted of 20 people with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes, Group II of 20 people with type 2 diabetes who also had vascular problems (diabetic nephropathy and/or diabetic retinopathy), and Group III of 20 people who looked to be in good condition. They completed tests in the lab, including fasting and two hours after eating, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C), microalbuminuria, fasting serum insulin calculation of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and serum level of CHIT1.
Results: HDL and serum CHIT1 showed a statistically substantial negative association, indicating that higher levels of CHIT1 would be associated with higher cardiac risk. There was statistically significant positive correlation between serum CHIT 1 and FBS, 2hP.PBS, BMI, CRP, ESR, HbA1C, HOMA-IR, microalbuminuria, serum creatinine, SBP, Cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL. ROC curve analysis for CHIT1 in diagnosis of DM reveals an AUC of 0.984 using the cut-off (48.5 pg/ml) yielded a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 92.5%, PPV of 92.5%, NPV of 100%, and an accuracy of 96%
Conclusions: Increased CHIT1 activity could be early predictive marker for vascular complications.
