Correlation of fasting and postprandial triglyceride levels and carotid artery intimal medial thickness in type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract

Background: Although the prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide, the prevalence of type 2 DM is rising more rapidly, because of sedentary lifestyle, increasing obesity and increased life expectancy. Objectives: To study correlation between fasting and postprandial triglyceride levels and Carotid artery intimal medial thickness (CIMT) in Type 2 Diabetic Patients. Material and Methods: This cross sectional observation study was done in Department of General Medicine, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore, Karnataka, India during January 2019 to June 2020. Sample size was 50 and Simple Random sampling method was used. Results: The mean carotid IMT of subjects with postprandial triglycerides < 200 with normal fasting triglyceride was 0.92±0.33. The mean carotid IMT of subjects with postprandial triglyceride 200-299 with normal fasting triglyceride was 1.52±0.57. The mean carotid IMT of subjects with postprandial triglycerides ≥300 with normal fasting triglycerides was 1.66±0.45. Conclusion: postprandial hypertriglyceridemia, despite normal fasting triglyceride levels, may be an independent risk factor for early atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes. Hence evaluating not only for FTG but also PPTG level during clinical assessment of patients with type 2 diabetes is important.