Poor glycemic control is an independent risk factor for low HDL-C in patients with type 2 diabetes

doi:10.2337/dc09-0256

Poor glycemic control is an independent risk factor for low HDL-C in patients with type 2 diabetes

Alessandra Gatti, MD¹,
Marianna Maranghi, MD¹,
Simonetta Bacci, MD²,
Claudio Carallo, MD³,
Agostino Gnasso, MD³,
Elisabetta Mandosi, MD¹,
Mara Fallarino, MD¹,
Susanna Morano, MD¹,
Vincenzo Trischitta, MD⁴,⁵,⁶ and
Sebastiano Filetti, MD (sebastiano.filetti{at}uniroma1.it)¹

¹Department of Clinical Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
²Unit of Endocrinology, IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
³Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, “Magna Græcia” University, Catanzaro, Italy
⁴Department of Medical Pathophysiology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
⁵Research Unit of Diabetes and Endocrine Diseases, IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
⁶IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza-Mendel, Rome, Italy

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether the association observed between poor glycemic control and low HDL-Cholesterol (HDL-C) in type 2 diabetes is dependent on obesity and/or hypertriglyceridemia.

Research design and methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 1819 patients with type 2 diabetes and triglycerides < 400 mg/dl enrolled in three Italian centers. The risk for low HDL-C was analyzed as a function of A1C levels. Odds ratios were calculated after adjustment for confounding factors.

Results: A 1% increase in A1C significantly increased the risk for low HDL-C (OR=1.17, 95% CI 1.1-1.2; p=0.00072); no changes were observed when age, sex, smoking, and lipid-lowering therapy were included in the model (OR=1.17, 95% CI 1.1-1.2) (p=0.00044). The association remained strong after adjustment for obesity and hypertriglyceridemia in multivariate analysis (OR=1.12, 95% CI=1.05-1.18; p=0.00017).

Conclusions: Poor glycemic control appears to be an independent risk factor for low HDL-C in type 2 diabetes.