Microalbuminuria, alteraciones lipídicas y cardiopatía coronaria en diabéticos no insulino dependientes

Background: Microalbuminuria could be a possible coronary risk factor. Aim: To study the association between microalbuminuria, serum lipid levels and coronary heart disease in non-insulin-dependent diabetics. Patients and methods: We studied 104 non-insulin-dependent diabetics, who were separated in four groups according to the presence of microalbuminuria, defined as a 24 h albumin excretion of 30 mg/24 h or more and according the history of coronary artery disease. Total, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, alpha, beta, prebeta lipoproteins, lipoprotein (a), apoproteins A and B were measured in all. Results: Twenty patients with and 32 without coronary artery disease had normal albumin excretion and the same number of patients had a urinary albumin over 30 mg/24 h. All four groups were comparable in terms of metabolic control, nutritional status, blood pressure and creatinine levels. Patients with coronary artery disease had higher urinary albumin excretion than patients without the disease (91 (32-173) and 34 (5-97) mg/24 h respectively p