The association of fibrinolysis and hyperlipidaemia with quantitative sensory tests in an epidemiological study of Swedish type 1 diabetic patients.

Serum levels of cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoprotein Lp(a), and the fibrinolysis factors tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) and PAI-1 activity (plasminogen activator inhibitor) were compared with sensory thresholds for vibration, electrical current perception, and pain in a population-based study comprising 239 patients with diabetes mellitus Type 1, aged 15-50 years. Univariate regression analyses (n = 180) showed significant correlations between elevated sensory thresholds and age, duration of diabetes, serum cholesterol and triglycerides, and HbA1c. In multivariate regression analysis, age, duration of diabetes, height, and serum triglycerides showed significant independent associations with five or six of the six measured sensory threshold variables. In addition there was a significant association between increased thresholds for vibration and Lp(a) levels. Thus, increased sensory thresholds for vibration, current perception, and pain in patients with Type 1 diabetes are associated with increased serum triglyceride levels, and Lp(a) levels are associated with increased threshold for vibration. Fibrinolytic activity is unrelated to these measures of nerve function in Type 1 diabetic patients.