Anaemia is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), particularly in
those with renal impairment. Despite this fact, most of diabetic patients in our community are
rarely tested for anaemia. Thus, we aimed to examine the prevalence of anaemia and its
relation to renal function among diabetic patients from south of Libya. Two hundred diabetic
patients attended the medical outpatient clinic of Murzuk general hospital and Brack general
hospital were included in this study. The control group consisted of 75 healthy volunteers.
fasting blood sugar (FBS), glycatedhaemoglobin(HbA1C), haemoglobin (Hb), creatinine and
estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were assessed for all participants. Data showed
that HbA1C (%) were greater (p < 0.001) in Type1 DM (8.11 ± 2.2) and Type2 DM (9.3 ± 2.8)
than the control group (6.1 ± 0.9). Hb (g/dl) levels of Type1 and Type2 patients (12.6 ± 1.9
and 12.8 ± 1.7) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the control group (13.4 ± 1.4). The
eGFR values were categorized as ≥ 90, 60 - 98 and < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2
. According to these
categories, patients with type 1 and type 2 at the 3 levels of descending eGFR were 45%, 23%
and 32%; 46%, 23% and 31% respectively, compared to 70.7%, 13.3% and 16% of the
control group. Similarly, the prevalence of anaemia among type1 and type 2 patients at the 3
levels of descending eGFR were 28.9%, 34.8% and 31.3%; 30.4%, 39.1% and 41.9%
respectively, compared to 16.9%, 10.0% and 25% for the control group. In all groups, Hb
levels correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with eGFR (r = + 0.43). Anaemia is highly prevalent
in diabetic patients and significantly associated with renal function. Therefore, anaemia
should be assessed and continuously monitored even to those without overt renal dysfunction.

Keywords: anaemia, diabetes, eGFR, renal function, Libya.