Basal and postglucagon C-peptide levels in Ethiopians with diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
To study basal C-peptide (BCP) and postglucagon C-peptide (PGCP) levels in Ethiopians with diabetes.


METHODS
A total of 56 subjects with type 1 diabetes, 97 subjects with type 2 diabetes, and 50 control subjects were recruited from a hospital in Ethiopia. BCP was determined in all subjects and PGCP in 86 subjects.


RESULTS
Mean (+/- SEM) BCP, PGCP, and the increment after glucagon in type 1 diabetic subjects (0.14 +/- 0.04, 0.22 +/- 0.11, and 0.08 +/- 0.05 nmol/l, respectively) were lower (P < 0.001) than those in type 2 diabetic subjects (0.66 +/- 0.04, 1.25 +/- 0.10, and 0.56 +/- 0.06 nmol/l, respectively) or control subjects (0.54 +/- 0.04, 1.52 +/- 0.26, and 1.11 +/- 0.24 nmol/l, respectively). The mean BCP level was higher in type 2 diabetic subjects than control subjects (P=0.015), whereas the mean increment was lower (P=0.005). Insulin-treated type 2 diabetic subjects, compared with non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetic subjects, had lower mean BCP (0.55 +/- 0.08 nmol/l [n=37] vs. 0.73 +/- 0.04 [n=60], P=0.001), lower PGCP (0.97 +/- 0.20 nmol/l [n=18] vs. 1.40 +/- 0.11 [n=35], P=0.010), and a lower C-peptide increment (0.34 +/- 0.06 [n=18] vs. 0.67 +/- 0.07 nmol/l [n=35], P=0.003). In both the type 1 and type 2 diabetic groups, those with BCP levels <0.2 nmol/l had lower BMI than those with higher BCP levels (P=0.023 and P < 0.001, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Combined with clinical criteria, C-peptide levels are good discriminators between type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Ethiopians and may also be useful in identifying subjects with type 2 diabetes who require insulin therapy. There is a subgroup of type 2 diabetic subjects with features of type 1 diabetes.
Siraj
Elias S
ES
Department of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Reddy
S Sethu K
SS
Scherbaum
Werner A
WA
Abdulkadir
Jemal
J
Hammel
Jeffrey P
JP
Faiman
Charles
C
D000328:Adult; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood* / Q000187:drug effects; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D005934:Glucagon / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D005934:Glucagon