Glycaemia and body mass as determinants of plasma lecithin : cholesterol acyltransferase activity in Nigerian patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

Abstract There is an inverse correlation between plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations and atherogenic vascular morbidity risk. An important pathway for modulating circulating HDL levels is the reaction catalysed by the plasma enzyme, lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). Thus, determinants of LCAT activity should influence plasma HDL levels and be accessible targets for intervention. We therefore assessed such determinants in Nigerian patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), classified into age-and sex-matched groups of obese (body mass index, BMI, > 25 kg/m 2 ) and non-obese (BMI 2 ). Our results indicated that 10 obese diabetic patients had significantly reduced plasma LCAT activity and HDL levels and increased plasma triglyceride (TG) levels, in comparison with the observations in 9 non-obese diabetic patients (all P P r −0.51, P