Usefulness of lipoprotein ratios in assessing carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract Objective It is indicated that total/HDL cholesterol and LDL/HDL cholesterol ratios have more predictive power for cardiovascular disease compared to classic lipid parameters. However, there have been few reports about the usefulness of these indices for the assessment of early stage atherosclerosis in Japanese type 2 diabetic subjects. Methods We examined the relation between various lipid parameters and carotid atherosclerosis in 934 type 2 diabetic subjects without apparent atherosclerotic diseases (males, 71.7%; age, 59.6 ± 10.5 years (mean ± SD)). Serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride were measured. LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) level was calculated using the Friedewald formula. The presence of carotid plaque and intima-media thickness (IMT) were evaluated by ultrasonography. Results A stepwise multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that HDL-C ( β  = −0.110, p β  = 0.132, p β  = 0.132, p p p p Conclusions TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios are useful as a tool to assess the risk of early stage atherosclerosis in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.