Serum CA 19-9 Level is Correlated to the Clinical Characteristics and Chronic Complications of Patients Newly Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Aim This study investigated the relation of serum carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA 19-9) levels to the clinical characteristics and chronic complications of patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods A total of 371 patients newly diagnosed with T2DM and 133 healthy people with consecutively matched age were compared. The 371 patients with T2DM were divided into four groups by quartiles based on their serum CA 19-9 levels, in which clinical characteristics and chronic complications, such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic nephropathy, and macrovascular complications were compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors of DR. Results Among the 371 patients newly diagnosed with T2DM, 60 had elevated CA 19-9 levels (16.17%). The frequencies of elevated serum CA 19-9 were 24.39% (30 of 123) for females and 12.10% (30 of 248) for males, in which the values for females were higher than those for males ( P <0.01).Differences were observed among the serum CA 19-9 levels, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and DR ( P< 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that serum CA 19-9 levels, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fasting C-peptide (FC-P) were risk factors for DR ( P< 0.05). Conclusions Serum CA 19-9 levels were correlated with HbA1c and DR in patients newly diagnosed with T2DM. The elevated serum CA 19-9 levels, high FC-P, and FBG levels were important risk factors for DR in patients newly diagnosed with T2DM.

Automated summary

This study found that in patients newly diagnosed with T2DM, 16.17% had elevated CA 19-9 levels, with females having a higher frequency than males. Serum CA 19-9 levels were correlated with HbA1c and DR, while high FC-P and FBG levels were important risk factors for DR in patients newly diagnosed with T2DM.