Objective: Thiamine or vitamin B1 is a coenzyme involved in the carbohydrate metabolism. It is vital micronutrient that is required for the production and secretion of insulin, and its level drops in diabetes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the biochemical changes related to different thiamine levels in patients with type I Diabetes Mellitus.

Methodology: This was a case-control study carried out in outpatient department (OPD) of Diabetes Department of Jinnah post graduate medical institute, Karachi. The duration of the study was about 6 months following approval of synopsis. A total of 30 participants with newly diagnosed type I Diabetes were selected; 18 participants had low/normal serum thiamine level while 12 participants had high serum thiamine level of both genders with age < 25 to > 46 years were included.  Mann-Whitney U Test was applied to evaluate the association between thiamine levels and biochemical and hematological parameters in patients with type I diabetes.

Results: The study findings revealed the mean age of type 1 diabetes patients was 24.20±6.39 years whereas 22 (73.3%) of them were females. Comparison of hematological parameters among type 1 diabetic patients with different thiamine levels revealed that only mean red blood cell count was significantly different among them (p=0.048) where patients with low/normal thiamine level had higher red blood cell count than those with high thiamine level (4.58±0.72 vs. 4.12±0.36). Moreover, mean total cholesterol levels were also found to be higher among patients with low/normal thiamine levels than those with high thiamine levels (210.06±41.22 vs. 190.42±14.24).

Conclusion: This study concluded that patients with low/normal thiamine level had significantly higher red blood cell count than those with high thiamine level. However, low/normal and high levels of thiamine were insignificantly associated with biomarkers related to diabetes such as glucose, high density lipoprotein, triglycerides and cholesterol, serum creatinine and urea.

Keywords: Blood sugar, hematological parameters, thiamine level, type I diabetes mellitus.