A comparative study on the fasting and the postprandial dyslipidaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2 DM), which is characterized by a relative insulin deficiency or insulin resistance is associated with a cluster of metabolic abnormalities, which includes glucose intolerance, hypertension, a unique dyslipidaemia, a procoagulant state, and an increase in macrovascular diseases. The present study was conducted to assess the significance of postprandial dyslipidaemia with respect to fasting dyslipidaemia, in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic changes and possible cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and complications. Methods and Statistical Analysis: Fifty diagnosed cases of type 2 DM which were in the age group of 35-65 years, which had a duration of diabetes of more than five years, were included in the study and 50 age and sex matched healthy subjects were taken as the controls. In both the study groups, we measured the serum levels of fasting as well as the postprandial lipid profile, which was comprised of the total Cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and the waist-hip ratio (WHI) as the cardiovascular risk factors. The statistical analysis was done by using the Students unpaired 't'-test.

RESULTS

The results of this study showed significantly increased levels of serum total cholesterol, TGs, LDL-C and VLDL-C in the postprandial state as compared to those in the fasting state (p<0.001) and as compared to those in the fasting and the postprandial states of the controls (p<0.001). The serum HDL-C level was significantly lower in the postprandial state as compared to that in the fasting state (p<0.001). Also, the postprandial and the fasting HDL-C levels were significantly lower as compared to the levels in their respective control groups (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The findings of the present study indicated that the lipid profile, as a cardiovascular risk factor, was significantly elevated in the postprandial state as compared to that in the fasting state and that it was significantly elevated in the postprandial and the fasting states in the Type 2 DM patients as compared to the levels in their respective control groups. This signified a routine estimation of the postprandial lipid profile, rather than the fasting lipid parameters, in the cardiovascular risk assessment in Type 2 DM.