Assessment of the relationship between oxidative stress markers and anti-oxidative co-factors in subjects with diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by impaired glucose metabolism and a resultant effect of persistent hyperglycaemia. Type 2 diabetes also known as adult-onset diabetes is majorly caused by insulin resistance. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between oxidative stress markers and anti-oxidative co-factors in subjects with diabetes mellitus in Edo South Senatorial district of Edo state. A total of 150 participants (100 subjects with diabetes mellitus and 50 apparently healthy individuals used as control) were recruited into this study. Oxidative stress markers, glutathione peroxidase (Gpx), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were analyzed using chemiluminiscence techniques. While the trace elements; magnesium, zinc, selenium and copper were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The data were analyzed using statistical software for social science version 23 (IBM, Chicago IL, USA). The mean value of the oxidative stress markers shows that there was a statistically significant increase in MDA in diabetic subjects as compared to their non-diabetic counterparts (P=0.014) while Gpx and CAT experienced a significant decrease in diabetic group than the controls (P=0.000 and P=0.000 respectively). For the trace elements, only magnesium showed a significant decrease in the subject group when compared to the control group (P=0.007), with zinc, copper and selenium depicting no statistical significance. The relationship between anti-oxidative co-factors(Copper, Zinc, Magnesium and Selenium) and redox parameters (CAT, MDA and GSH) depicted no significant correlation.