The insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) is associated with dyslipidemia and increased cardiovascular disease risk. A novel method for detailed analyses of lipoprotein subclass sizes and particle concentrations that uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of whole sera has become available. To define the effects of insulin resistance, we measured dyslipidemia using both NMR lipoprotein subclass analysis and conventional lipid panel, and insulin sensitivity as the maximal glucose disposal rate (GDR) during hyperinsulinemic clamps in 56 insulin sensitive (IS; mean ؎ SD: GDR 15.8 ؎ 2.0 mg ⅐ kg ؊1 ⅐ min ؊1 , fasting blood glucose [FBG] 4.7 ؎ 0.3 mmol/l, BMI 26 ؎ 5), 46 insulin resistant (IR; GDR 10.2 ؎ 1.9, FBG 4.9 ؎ 0.5, BMI 29 ؎ 5), and 46 untreated subjects with type 2 diabetes (GDR 7.4 ؎ 2.8, FBG 10.8 ؎ 3.7, BMI 30 ؎ 5). In the group as a whole, regression analyses with GDR showed that progressive insulin resistance was associated with an increase in VLDL size (r ‫؍‬ ؊0.40) and an increase in large VLDL particle concentrations (r ‫؍‬ ؊0.42), a decrease in LDL size (r ‫؍‬ 0.42) as a result of a marked increase in small LDL particles (r ‫؍‬ ؊0.34) and reduced large LDL (r ‫؍‬ 0.34), an overall increase in the number of LDL particles (r ‫؍‬ ؊0.44), and a decrease in HDL size (r ‫؍‬ 0.41) as a result of depletion of large HDL particles (r ‫؍‬ 0.38) and a modest increase in small HDL (r ‫؍‬ ؊0.21; all P < 0.01). These correlations were also evident when only normoglycemic individuals were included in the analyses (i.e., IS ؉ IR but no diabetes), and persisted in multiple regression analyses adjusting for age, BMI, sex, and race. Discontinuous analyses were also performed. When compared with IS, the IR and diabetes subgroups exhibited a two-to threefold increase in large VLDL particle concentrations (no change in medium or small VLDL), which produced an increase in serum triglycerides; a decrease in LDL size as a result of an increase in small and a reduction in large LDL subclasses, plus an increase in overall LDL particle concentration, which together led to no difference (IS versus IR) or a minimal difference (IS versus diabetes) in LDL cholesterol; and a decrease in large cardioprotective HDL combined with an increase in the small HDL subclass such that there was no net significant difference in HDL cholesterol. We conclude that 1) insulin resistance had profound effects on lipoprotein size and subclass particle concentrations for VLDL, LDL, and HDL when measured by NMR; 2) in type 2 diabetes, the lipoprotein subclass alterations are moderately exacerbated but can be attributed primarily to the underlying insulin resistance; and 3) these insulin resistance-induced changes in the NMR lipoprotein subclass profile predictably increase risk of cardiovascular disease but were not fully apparent in the conventional lipid panel. It will be important to study whether NMR lipoprotein subclass parameters can be used to manage risk more effectively and prevent cardiovascular disease in patients with the IRS. Diabetes 52:453-462, ...

The authors examined the relation between self-reported health status and mortality among the following racial/ethnic groups: Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, blacks, whites, and Hispanics. They pooled 1986-1994 data from the National Health Interview Survey to obtain information on more than 700,000 cohort participants. Although fewer than 5,000 Native Americans are included in this cohort, the data provide information previously unavailable for this group. Also included are almost 17,000 Asian/Pacific Islanders, over 90,000 blacks, and over 50,000 Hispanics. The authors found strong associations between self-reported health status and both socioeconomic status and subsequent mortality. A self-report of fair or poor health was associated with at least a twofold increased risk of mortality for all racial/ethnic groups. Even after adjustment for socioeconomic status and measures of comorbidity, a significant relation was found between self-reported health status and subsequent mortality. The authors found that self-reported health status is a strong prognostic indicator for subsequent mortality for both genders and all racial/ethnic groups examined. These results emphasize the utility of using simple filter questions in population research.

Echocardiographically determined left ventricular hypertrophy is an important prognostic marker in patients with or without coronary artery disease. The effect of reversing ventricular hypertrophy in patients with and without coronary disease deserves further study.

In this series of patients referred to coronary angiography for suspected CAD, LVH conferred most of the predictive information from echocardiography. Patients with both LVH and abnormal RWT--concentric LVH--represent a group with the greatest mortality risk. Concentric remodeling may not be associated with increased risk of death because the predictive value of RWT is not as strong as for LV mass.