Prevalence & Predictors of Anaemia in Relation to Glycaemic Status & Mean Corpuscular Volume: A Hospital-Based Observational Study

Abstract

Introduction: Anaemia is a common haematological disorder influenced by demographic, nutritional, metabolic and systemic factors. Alterations in erythrocyte morphology and turnover may also affect interpretation of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), making evaluation of the relationship between anaemia, glycaemic status and red-cell indices clinically relevant.

Aim & Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of anaemia and assess its association with demographic characteristics, HbA1c levels, and erythrocyte indices, particularly MCV.

Material & Methods: This hospital-based observational study included 150 participants. Age, sex, haemoglobin, HbA1c and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were assessed. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin <13 g/dL in males and <12 g/dL in females. HbA1c was categorized as <7% and ≥7%, while MCV was classified as microcytic, normocytic or macrocytic. Associations were evaluated using appropriate comparative tests and multivariable logistic regression.

Results: The mean age was 44.97 ± 15.69 years, and 56.7% were females. Anaemia was present in 77 participants (51.3%) and was significantly more common among females than males (61.2% vs 38.5%; p=0.010). Anaemia prevalence did not differ significantly across age groups (p=0.489), HbA1c categories (p=0.076) or MCV categories (p=0.564). However, mean HbA1c was significantly lower in anaemic than non-anaemic participants (6.54 ± 1.88% vs 7.37 ± 2.73%; p=0.031). On multivariable analysis, male sex (adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.17–0.69; p=0.003) and increasing HbA1c (adjusted OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.72–0.97; p=0.020) were independently associated with lower odds of anaemia, whereas age and MCV were not independent predictors.

Conclusion: Anaemia affected more than half of the study population and was significantly more common among females. Higher HbA1c was independently associated with lower odds of anaemia, while MCV was not an independent predictor.

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