Background: Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for atherosclerosis; coronary heart disease (CHD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic subjects.
Patients and methods: We determined serum lipids and apolipoprotein A-I levels in 13 females and 8 males affected by non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and in age-matched blood donors (9 females and 10 males). Furthermore, serum samples were characterized by isoelectric focusing (IEF) in the range of pH 5-7.
Results: In diabetics, apolipoprotein A-I levels were significantly lower (t = 9.192, p < 0.001) than in control subjects, while there were no significant differences in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. IEF patterns obtained for diabetics were different from those obtained for controls in the intensity of the bands; particularly, major differences were revealed in the range of pH 4.3-5.2.
Conclusions: We put forward the hypothesis that quantitative modifications of the proteic portion of HDL could be associated with diabetes and that this could help to explain the high incidence of atherosclerosis and CHD observed in diabetic subjects.