Islet cell antibodies at diagnosis, but not leanness, relate to a better cardiovascular risk factor profile 5 years after diagnosis of NIDDM.

Abstract

To evaluate the relationship between islet cell antibodies (ICAs) and the cardiovascular risk profile 5 years after clinical diagnosis of NIDDM. Five years after clinical diagnosis, we evaluated blood pressure (BP) and lipids in 17 NIDDM patients with ICA at diagnosis (age 60 +/- 4 years) and 133 NIDDM patients without ICA at diagnosis (age 61 +/- 1 year). Urinary albumin excretion was evaluated in a subset of 12 NIDDM patients with ICA at diagnosis (age 60 +/- 4 years) and 82 NIDDM patients without ICA at diagnosis (age 61 +/- 1 year). NIDDM patients without ICA showed higher BP (140/86 +/- 2/1 mmHg vs. 128/79 +/- 3/2 mmHg; P < 0.05), total cholesterol (6.10 +/- 0.11 vs. 5.09 +/- 0.29 mmol/l; P < 0.01), LDL-to-HDL ratio (3.85 +/- 0.14 vs. 2.49 +/- 0.18; P < 0.001), and triglycerides (2.58 +/- 0.24 vs. 0.90 +/- 0.06 mmol/l; P < 0.001), lower HDL cholesterol (1.08 +/- 0.03 vs. 1.40 +/- 0.08 mmol/l; P < 0.001), and higher urinary albumin excretion (0.16 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.01 +/- 0.01 g/24 h; P < 0.05) than NIDDM patients with ICA. Among NIDDM patients without ICA, no differences concerning BP or lipids were found between obese and nonobese patients. ICA at diagnosis of NIDDM is a marker of more favorable cardiovascular risk profile 5 years after clinical diagnosis.