Abstract
DETERMINANTS OF ABNORMAL LIVER FUNCTION TESTS IN DIABETES TYPE 2 PATIENTS IN SUDAN

Previous data on the evaluation of liver function tests (LFTs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus showed considerable debates, so this study is conducted to evaluate the LFTs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a group of diabetic patients in Sudan. A cross sectional study conducted at the diabetic clinic of Jabir Abu-Alez-Khartoum-Sudan, between April 2013 and July 2013, total of (120) type 2 diabetic patients and 85 healthy subjects were selected as controls, LFTs were performed using standard methods. The means of Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Total Protein, Albumin, and total bilirubin (TB) were significantly higher in patients than in the control (P<0.02), but direct bilirubin (DB) values were not significantly different, (P =0.37). Although the differences were statistically significant, the means of all these LFTs were falling within the normal range. Raised ALT and AST and ALP were noted in 20 % of patients, also raised TB, DB, Total protein and Albumin were noted in 6%, 4%, 10% and 4% respectively. No significant correlation was noted between means of LFTs with duration of diabetes, however, only ALT was found to be significantly positively correlated with duration of diabetes, p.value (0.000). LFTs values in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were significantly higher than that of control. 22% of the patients had at least one or more elevated liver enzyme levels. Hence liver function tests are highly recommended for diabetic patients