Hiraga T, Kobayashi T, Okubo M, Nakanishi K, Sugimoto T, Ohashi Y, Murase T
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Diabetes Care. 1995 Feb;18(2):241-4. doi: 10.2337/diacare.18.2.241.
To assess whether lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in diabetes.
We studied 221 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) without diabetic complications who were followed for 2.2-3.1 years. Their serum Lp(a) levels were semiquantified by a rapid electrophoretic method that accurately discriminates high from low serum Lp(a) at the 20 mg/dl level.
Seven of 105 diabetic patients with a high serum Lp(a) experienced a clinical event related to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This incidence was significantly higher than that of the 110 diabetic patients with a low serum Lp(a). The logistic regression analysis revealed that Lp(a) was an independent risk factor for the event.
Lp(a) is a significant risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in NIDDM.
