[Dyslipemia in type-2 diabetes. A risk factor for macroangiopathy?]

To study the association of dyslipemia with macroangiopathy in patients with type II diabetes mellitus.

Descriptive crossover study.

An urban health district with a socially and economically depressed elderly population.

A randomised sample among the diabetics registered in the health district (n = 449).

Different factors in the lipidic profile were studied, as was the presence of diabetic macroangiopathy and some of the associated risk factors. The following were considered cut-off figures with a predictive value of cardiovascular risk: overall cholesterol >or= 240 mg/dl (40% of the sample), HDL < 35 mg/dl (27%), LDL >or= 160 mg/dl (43%), triglycerides >or= 200 mg/dl (25%), atherogenic index >or= 4.5 (73%) and HDL/LDL balance >or= 0.2 (83%). 85.5% of the diabetics in the sample presented one of the lipidic disorders mentioned above. In the multivariant analysis only hypertriglyceridaemia was associated with a higher prevalence of peripheral vasculopathy.

A high percentage of patients with type II DM presented disorders in their lipidic profile. But, unlike the norm in the general population, only hypertriglyceridaemia displayed a statistically significant association with diabetic macroangiopathy. The role of the other dyslipemic factors was limited.