[Study of cardiovascular risk factors in Tunisian patients with recent type 2 diabetes]

To study the frequency of silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) in Tunisian patients with recent type 2 diabetes and identify cardiovascular risk factors directly in relation with SMI.

One hundred and twenty diabetics and sixty healthy people have benefited from blood sampling, electrocardiogram and exercise test.

The frequency of SMI was 21% in diabetics and 3% in healthy people (P=0.01). Obesity and hypertension were higher in diabetics than in healthy people (P=0.001 and P<10(-4)). Using unvaried analysis for risk factors with the presence of SMI in diabetics, we found that age greater than 60 yrs, male sex, sedentary and smoking were significantly correlated with SMI; respectively P=0.004, 0.01, 0.009 and 0.03. The SMI was found in 37% of diabetics with high blood pressure vs 8% in diabetics with normal blood pressure and was correlated with hypertriglyceridemia, hypoHDLemia and microalbuminuria. Patients with SMI had at least two cardiovascular risk factors apart from diabetes among those: age greater or equal to 60 yrs, male sex, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia and family history of early coronaropathy. Chronic inflammation and hyperhomocysteinemia were significantly correlated to SMI; OR=4.2 and 3.8. In addition, SMI was found in one diabetic over three who had bad glycemic control. Using multivariate analysis, only age greater or equal to 60 yrs, smoking, hypertension, hyperhomocysteinemia and hypertriglyceridemia were risk factors directly in relation with SMI in type 2 diabetes.

The assessment of global cardiovascular risk from the moment of discovering type 2 diabetes and the early screening of SMI should be necessary.