Low HDL-cholesterol among normal weight, normoglycemic offspring of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus

ObjEctIvE: Offspring of type 2 diabetics have an increased risk of dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and obesity. the aim of this study was to assess the lipid levels in the offspring of diabetics with normal glucose tolerance and normal body weight. DEsIGN: Normal weight offspring of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) who had normal glucose tolerance, and healthy gender matched controls of comparable age without a family history of diabetes mellitus, were the subjects of this study. Lipid profiles were determined in cases and controls. rEsULts: the study included 114 subjects (64 males and 50 females) in each group, aged (mean±sD) 24.0±7.9 in cases and 24.1±8.0 years in controls. the body mass index (bMI) was 20.8±3.0 and 20.2±3.1 kg/m 2 in cases and controls, respectively. serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, plasma glucose, fasting insulin, c-peptide and proinsulin levels were comparable in cases and controls. serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was lower (p <0.001), whilst the serum triglyceride/HDL ratio, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and area under the curve for insulin and proinsulin during an oral glucose tolerance test were higher in cases compared to controls. HDL cholesterol showed no significant correlation with plasma glucose, insulin or proinsulin. cONcLUsION: Plasma HDL cholesterol is low among normal weight, normoglycemic offspring of subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. the implications of this finding are not apparent.