Albuminuria is associated with dyslipidemia in Type 2 diabetics

18 August 2008

MedWire News: Albuminuria is present at high frequency and is associated with dyslipidemia in Type 2 diabetic patients, show results from an Iranian study.

"Increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE) is an indicator of damage of the vascular endothelium, an unyielding marker of cardiovascular disease pathologies and renal impairment, and a strong marker of developing diabetes complications," say Mehrshad Abbasi (Tehran University of Medical Sciences) and fellow investigators.

The researchers assessed the prevalence of increased UAE, defined as micro- (between 30-300mg/24h) or macro-albuminuria (above 300 mg/24h), and associated factors in a group of 400 consecutive Iranian Type 2 diabetic patients.

Abbasi and colleagues found that 156 study participants had increased UAE, 133 of whom had microalbuminuria and 23 of whom had macroalbuminuria. Overall, the frequency was higher in men than women at 51% versus 34%, respectively.

Of note, the investigators found that compared to those with normal UAE levels participants with abnormal UAE had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels (42.6 versus 46.1 mg/dl) and higher triglycerides (225.1 versus 199.2 mg/dl).

However, no differences between groups were observed for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and lipoprotein (a) levels.

The authors found that, generally, longer duration of diabetes was linked to higher levels of UAE.

Abbasi et al suggest: "Increased UAE in patients with dyslipidemia may be secondary to dyslipidemia associated endovascular damage."

They add that "there is some evidence that lipid reduction by antilipemic agents might decrease proteinuria in diabetic patients; however, presence of direct causal correlation between dyslipidemia and diabetic renal damage is still a subject of controversy."

The results from this study are published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease.

Lipids Health Dis 2008; 7: 28