Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the metabolic abnormalities commonly associated with diabetes and the changes in carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in Korean type 2 diabetic patients who do not have clinically manifest cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Design: In a prospective study, a total of 152 type 2 diabetic patients were recruited from a group of outpatients at the Yonsei University Hospital.
Materials and methods: The carotid IMTs of 152 subjects with type 2 diabetes (mean age 63.5+/-7.0 years) were determined at baseline and after a mean follow-up time of 23.7+/-3.7 months. Fasting plasma glucose, serum total cholesterol (TC), serum triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), HbA1c, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results for 2-h post-challenge glucose (2hPG), and blood pressure measurements were collected every 3 months and averaged.
Results: The highest quartiles of baseline C-peptide and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) index showed more IMT progression than the lowest quartiles. The change in the mean IMT correlated with average values of HbA1c (r=.219, P=.007), the 2-h post-challenge glucose (r=.239, P=.003), HDL-C (r=-.228, P=.005), LDL-C (r=.175, P=.033), and non-HDL-C (r=.194, P=.016). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the independent risk factor for the mean IMT change in diabetic patients was the average 2hPG level (P=.004). The change in the mean IMT of those in the lowest quartile of average 2hPG (<11.1 mmol/l) was 823+/-176 to 841+/-146 microm (P=.276). In the highest quartile (2hPG >15.3 mmol/l), however, the mean IMT increased from 794+/-127 to 882+/-153 microm (P<.001).
Conclusion: The 2hPG parameter among the various metabolic parameters exerts the greatest influence upon the prevention of carotid IMT progression in type 2 diabetic subjects. The level of 2hPG is an independent risk factor for the progression of carotid IMT in Korean type 2 diabetic patients.