Effect of Iron Deficiency Anemia on Hba1c Levels in Nondiabetic Adults: A Prospective Interventional Study
Keywords:
Senna auriculata; Alzheimer's disease; network pharmacology; molecular docking; acetylcholinesterase; butyrylcholinesterase; oxidative stress; rutin.Abstract
Objective: To evaluate HbA1c levels in adults with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) without diabetes and to determine the change in HbA1c following correction of iron deficiency anemia. Methods: This prospective interventional study was conducted over 120 days in the Department of General Medicine, Doon Medical College, Dehradun. Adults aged 18–60 years with IDA fulfilling predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled. Age- and sex-matched controls were included for baseline comparison. Clinical assessment and laboratory investigations included complete blood count, serum iron, ferritin, HbA1c and tests used to exclude relevant comorbid conditions. HbA1c was reassessed after correction of anemia with iron therapy. Continuous variables were summarized as mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables as frequency and percentage. Student's t test, paired t test and chi-square testing were used as appropriate. Results: The study included 120 participants with IDA and 120 matched controls. Mean age of the IDA group was 34.1 ± 8.4 years; 68.3% were female. Mean hemoglobin was 6.8 ± 1.1 g/dL at baseline and increased to 12.7 ± 0.4 g/dL after iron treatment (p<0.001). Mean serum iron and ferritin were 21.257 ± 4.688 and 6.871 ± 1.5, respectively, in the IDA group and increased significantly after treatment. Mean HbA1c was 4.619 ± 0.308% in the IDA group compared with 5.446 ± 0.281% in controls (p<0.001). Following anemia correction, mean HbA1c increased to 5.816 ± 0.323% (p<0.001). Baseline hemoglobin and HbA1c showed a weak positive correlation (r=0.26, p=0.005); the post-treatment correlation was weak and not statistically significant (r=-0.15, p=0.111). Conclusion: In this study, HbA1c was significantly lower in adults with IDA than in matched controls and increased after correction of anemia. IDA should therefore be considered when interpreting HbA1c, particularly when results are near diagnostic thresholds.
