[Lipoprotein (a) and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus]

To study the relationship of the concentration of serum lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] with diabetic complications in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), 100 non-diabetics with 150 patients with NIDDM were compared. There was no difference in Lp(a) concentration (P > 0.5) between the two groups. Lp(a) concentration was not significantly correlated with the levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), HDL2-C, HDL3-C, apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B in both groups. In NIDDM group, patients with hypertension, macro- and microangiopathy had higher levels of Lp(a) than those without these complications (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002 respectively). Lp(a) level was positively related to presence of macroangiopathy (r = 0.185, P = 0.024) and proteinuria (r = 0.316, P < 0.001) in NIDDM.