Relationship between Microalbuminuria and Dyslipidaemia in Type - 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

Background: It is widely reported that dyslipidaemia is a common feature of type 2 diabetes mellitus and is often associated with a higher risk of diabetic complications. Objectives: Lipid profile and microalbuminuria were examined in all type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. The prevalence of dyslipidaemia was determined and comparison was made amongst the normotensive and hypertensive diabetic patients presenting with microalbuminuria and normotensive diabetes without microalbuminuria. Patients and methods: Ninety- five (95) type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 20 healthy controls were randomly selected and studied. Seventeen (17) of them were normotensive diabetics with microalbuminuria, forty (40) were hypertensive diabetics with microalbuminuria and thirty-eight (38) were normotensive diabetics without microalbuminuria. The weight, height and blood pressure of the patients were measured and their blood and urine samples were obtained for plasma lipid profile and albumin-creatinine ratio respectively. Results: The mean total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol was highest in normotensive DM presenting with microalbuminuria 5.4 (1.87) mmol/l and 3.74 (1.71) mmol/l, compared to hypertensive DM with microalbuminuria 5.28 (1.38) mmol/l and 3.67 (1.33) mmol/l and lowest in the normotensive DM without microalbuminuria 5.1 (1.32) mmol/l and 3.36 (1.15) mmol/l (p<0.05). A high proportion of diabetic patients presenting with microalbuminuria (normotensive (65%) and hypertensive (67%) had high total cholesterol, this was similar to the diabetics without microalbuminuria (63%) whereas a lower proportion (30% ) of the control (non-diabetics) has high TC value p=0.0001. Similarly high proportions of the DM patients 47%,57% and 50% respectively had high low density lipoprotein values compared to controls(non-diabetics) (30%) p=0.0012. Conclusion: These findings draw specific attention to the need to screening for
microalbuminuria in patients with dyslipidaemia as this will reduce the risk or slow down the progress of cardiovascular complications.