ABSTRACT Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a slowly progressive disease that may start insidiously and eventually results in secondary complications. The level of zinc in type 2 diabetic patients is significantly lower than in non-diabetics patients. Moreover, high zinc losses in urine further reduce serum zinc in all types of diabetes. This study aims to evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation, as an add-on to metformin therapy, on serum lipid profile and uric acid in type 2 diabetic patients versus metformin therapy alone. This is a case-control study that was conducted at the Diabetes and Endocrinology civil clinics and Diabetes Centre in Mosul, Iraq, from October 17th, 2020 to March 1st, 2021. The study included 67 type 2 diabetic patients. Metformin was provided to 32 patients (15 females and 17 males) as a control group. The other, interventional, group (n = 35; 16 females and 19 males) received metformin and zinc supplement. The serum lipid profile and uric acid level of the enrolled patients were measured at the baseline of the study and after two months, and the results of the two groups were compared. The results confirmed that zinc use significantly lowered total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and Castelli’s risk index I of atherogenicity and raised high-density lipoprotein level but did not affect very low-density lipoprotein. No changes were observed in serum lipid profile and uric acid levels in the metformin alone group. Zinc levels were substantially increased and reversed to normal in the zinc plus metformin case group in comparison to the metformin alone group. The study concluded that in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, measuring zinc levels and compensating for the deficiency by zinc supplementation is recommended. This might carry a beneficial effect on serum lipid profile and uric acid levels, and hence diabetic outcomes.
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