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Hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and coronary artery disease relate well with each other in type 2 diabetes and it has been proposed that higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes is due to chronic uncontrolled hyperglycemia. Our study aimed to find utility of Hba1c as indicator of dyslipidemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We enrolled 168 T2DM patients in our study and collected venous blood samples in both plain and EDTA vials after a fast of minimum 8 hours. Biochemical analysis was done in fully automated analyzer cobas c311. HbA1c was found to have significant positive correlation with total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglyceride and significant negative correlation with HDL-C and HDL/LDL ratio. The mean value of TC, LDL-C and TG was found to be lower in patients with good glycemic control than those with poor glycemic control. But, mean value of HDL and HDL/LDL ratios were found to be higher in patients with good glycemic control than those with poor glycemic control. These differences were significant at the level of p <0.05. Our study suggests additional use of HbA1c as indicator of dyslipidemia.

Objective To estimate the prevalence of depression in the working population; to examine if any gender disparity prevails; and to determine the sociodemographic mediators of depression. Methods Data from previous research was retrieved for this study. Only paid workers were selected (n=160). Sociodemographic variables including prevalence of moderate depression were compared between the genders using Chi square test. Significant variables were subject to logistic regression. Validated Nepali version of the Beck Depression Inventory scale (BDI-Ia) was used to determine depressive symptoms with a cutoff score of ≥20 considered as moderate depression. Result The overall prevalence of moderate depression was 15%, with higher prevalence among working women compared to men [χ2 (df) = 6.7(1), P=0.01], those practicing religions other than Hinduism [χ2 (df) = 5.5(1), P=0.01], those educated up to primary school compared to other education criteria [χ2 (df) = 9.4(4), P=0.03], those having vitamin D deficiency compared to others [χ2 (df) = 8.5(3), P=0.03], and sedentary lifestyle compared to active lifestyle [χ2 (df) = 6.7(1), P=0.009]. The OR (95% CI) for moderate depression was significantly higher in women than in men [3.2 (1.1-9.6), P= 0.03] and sedentary lifestyle [2.9(1.1-8.2), P= 0.04] even after adjusting for confounding variables. Conclusion Working women have increased odds of depression compared to men. Among various characteristics, sedentary lifestyle was the most important causative factor for depression among women.

Context:The coexistence of diabetes mellitus (DM) with hypothyroidism is a known clinical observation.Aims:To estimate prevalence and co-relate that of hypothyroidism in patients with DM in relation to the age and sex, the lipid profile, body mass index visiting diabetes clinic and inpatients in B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences.Settings and Design:The hospital-based descriptive study.Materials and Methods:Two hundred and seventy-one known or newly detected cases of DM aged more than 15 years were selected randomly from September 2012 to September 2013 and subjected to evaluation for thyroid function – clinically and biochemically and other relevant investigations were done.Statistical Analysis Used:For descriptive statistics mean, standard deviation, percentage, proportion were calculated. For inferential statistics following test were carried out at the level of significant 0.05 where confidence interval is 95%. The statistical operations were done through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 10.Results:Of 271 subjects, the prevalence of hypothyroidism (clinical and subclinical) in diabetics was, 4.05% (11/271) with females preponderance, of which 7 (30.4%) were clinically hypothyroid and 4 (17.4%) were subclinical hypothyroid. One (4.3%) patient had subclinical hyperthyroidism. The mean age at diagnosis of type 2 DM was 51–60 years. 8.69% of diabetics with primary hypothyroids were having morbid obesity. High-density lipoprotein among different thyroid status were statistically significant (P = 0.042).Conclusions:Hypothyroidism is not uncommon in diabetes, and we found body mass index, mean triglyceride and cholesterol levels were more in those diabetic patients having coexisting hypothyroidism.

Objective. To estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the eastern part of Nepal and identify the sociodemographic factors associated with it. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 324 participants between the ages 18 and 65 years from the Sunsari and Morang districts of Nepal. A semi-structured questionnaire helped obtain sociodemographic data followed by anthropometric measurements and blood sampling. 25(OH)D level was measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) via a fully automated Maglumi 1000 analyzer (SNIBE Co., Ltd., China). Serum 25(OH)D was classified as deficient, insufficient, and sufficient (<20 ng/ml, 20–29 ng/ml, and 30–100 ng/ml, respectively). The chi-square test was used to analyze the sociodemographic variables followed by a post hoc analysis. Significant variables were subjected to multivariate logistic regression. Result. 181(55.9%) of the study population had vitamin D deficiency. There was significant association between vitamin D status and time of maximum sun exposure (chi square test = 11.1, p = 0.02 ), duration of sun exposure (chi-square test = 15.1, p = 0.004 ), type of meat intake (Fisher’s exact test is 16.4, p = 0.01 ), frequency of fish intake (Fisher’s exact test is 19.3, p = 0.001 ), and frequency of dairy intake (chi-square test=11.2, p = 0.02 ). In multivariate regression, consumption of dairy products ≥3/week had lower OR (95% CI) (0.3(0.1–0.8) p : 0.02 ) and weekly fish consumption had lower OR (95% CI) (0.06(0.008–0.6) p : 0.01 ) for vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was relatively high in eastern Nepal. This highlights the need to create public awareness regarding the importance of bare skin sun exposure, nutritional sources of vitamin D, and the need to implement food fortification policies by the government.