Abstract:
Background: Obesity is a leading cause of diabetes mellitus. There are no studies examining
the relationship between Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and components of body fat among Sri
Lankans.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine how HbA1c associates with body mass
index (BMI), total body fat mass (TBF), body fat percentage (BFP) and truncal fat mass (TRF)
in a group of community dwellers, not detected to have diabetes previously.
Methodology: A group of 72 subjects (men=65) were included in the analysis after obtaining
informed written consent. TBF, BFP, and TRF were measured using Dual Energy X-ray
Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. HbA1c level was measured using high performance liquid
chromatography. BFP was calculated by dividing body fat content by body weight and
expressing it as a percentage.
Results: Mean (SD) age of the group was 49(9) years. Mean (SD) height was 1.63(0.07) m
while mean (SD) weight was 63.3(11.5) kg. Mean (SD) HbA1c concentration was 6 (1.1) %.
HbA1c showed significant positive correlations with BMI (r=0.30, p=0.010) and TRF (r=0.28,
p=0.015), after adjusting for age. However, correlations between HbA1c and TBF (r=0.223,
p=0.056) and BFP (r=0.11, p=0.33) were not significant.
Conclusions: HbA1c correlates more with BMI and TRF than TBF indicating that the truncal
fat is more connected with dysglycaemia.
