and Objectives: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are more prone to diabetic complications and oxygen free radicals are known to contribute to the development of complications of DM. However, there are conflicting reports regarding antioxidant status in type 2 diabetic patients. The present cross sectional study was designed to evaluate the serum total antioxidant status (TAS) in type 2 diabetic patients and age matched control subjects in ABUTH Shika, Zaria. Subjects and Methods: A

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... tal of 281 subjects were recruited for the study. These comprised of 181 type 2 diabetic patients and 100 controls. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured using glucose oxidase method, glycatedhaemoglobin (GHbA1c) using micro column method and TAS using Mosmann method. Results: The reference range of TAS is 15.7 -63.1 mmol/L. The mean value of TAS (33.3 ± 0.5 mmol/L) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in diabetic patients than in control subjects (39.4 ± 0.8 mmol/L).On the other hand the mean values of FBG and GHbA1c in diabetic patients (7.0 ± 0.3 and 8.2 ± 0.2) were significantly higher (p< 0.05) than corresponding values in controls (4.1 ± 0.8 and 5.0 ±0.1) respectively. The mean values of TAS were however similar (p > 0.05) among diabetic patients with good and poor glucose control (33.3 ± 0.7 mmol/L versus 32.2 ± 0.7 mmol/L). Also the mean values of TAS were similar (p > 0.05) among diabetic patients with good and poor GHbA1c control (33.4 ± 0.6 mmol/L versus 33.1 ± 0.6 mmol/L). Similarly, the mean values of TAS in diabetic patients with complications and those without complications (32.8 ± 0.6 mmol/L versus 34.4 ± 1.1 mmol/L) were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that type 2 diabetic patients of the study area have low serum level of TAS.