Differential Postprandial Lipoprotein Responses in Type 2 Diabetic Men with and without Clinical Evidence of a Former Myocardial Infarction

Postprandial lipemia plays an important role in the development of coronary heart disease through an elevation of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. In type 2 diabetic male subjects, our aim was to compare postprandial lipemia in a high-risk population with former myocardial infarction (MI) with that of a lower risk population free of clinically detectable heart disease. 32 male type 2 diabetic subjects were included in the study. We matched 17 cases with a verified history of MI with 15 controls according to age, BMI, HbA1c, diabetes duration, smoking, and treatment of diabetes. Ongoing metformin, insulin, or lipid lowering pharmacological treatment were exclusion criteria. After a maximal exercise tolerance test and echocardiography, the subjects underwent a hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic clamp and a vitamin A fat loading test. Plasma triglyceride levels in the case group were significantly higher after 360 minutes (4.6 +/- 3.1 vs. 2.8 +/- 1.8 mmol/l, p = 0.04) and 480 minutes (3.6 +/- 2.2 vs. 2.4 +/- 2.4 mmol/l, p = 0.03), as was the incremental Area Under the Curve (iAUC) for the whole period (560 +/- 452 vs. 297 +/- 214 mmol x 480 min./l; p = 0.048). In addition, the retinyl palmitate responses in the chylomicron-fraction from the case group were significantly higher (iAUC 311,502 +/- 194,933 vs. 187,004 +/- 102,928 ng x 480 min./ml; p = 0.035). Type 2 diabetic males with prior MI had higher postprandial triglyceride-rich lipoprotein responses than those without MI, indicating that high responses may be a marker for a high-risk population.