Triglyceride profile in dyslipidaemia of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate ratios of serum triglycerides and cholesterol levels which may indicate postprandial lipid handling and to assess their role as prospective markers of dyslipidaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus. STUDY DESIGN: Comparative, observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Bismillah Taqee Hospital, Karachi from July 2002 till December 2003. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised 160 subjects, including 83 known type 2 diabetics (45 males, 38 females) and 77 age-matched controls (45 males, 32 females). Fasting blood samples were analysed for serum triglycerides and total cholesterol, using automated chemistry analyzer. HDL-C was determined by precipitation method and LDL-C and VLDL-C were estimated by Friedewalds formula. LDL/HDL ratio and TG/HDL ratios were also calculated. The mean values for male and female diabetics were compared with that for the male and female non-diabetics respectively and tested for significance by paired t-test. RESULTS: Serum triglycerides and VLDL were raised in both male and female diabetics. No significant differences were observed in levels of serum total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and the LDL/HDL ratio. The mean value of the TG/HDL ratio for male diabetics was higher than that for the male non-diabetics (p=0.39). A statistically significant difference was found in the TG/HDL ratios for the female diabetics and non-diabetics (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, type 2 diabetics showed marked hypertriglyceridaemia and raised TG/HDL ratio. The dyslipidaemia of diabetes predisposes to development of coronary heart disease and, therefore, evaluation of the TG:HDL ratio may provide a good tool to monitor and manage the lipid abnormalities in diabetics.