Small dense LDL cholesterol promising marker for detecting type 2 diabetes

The projected small dense low-density lipoprotein (sd-LDL) cholesterol was a significant indicator of the likelihood that diabetes will occur in the next 10 years, says an article published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, a marker of dyslipidemia, is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease that is more pronounced in people with diabetes. The risk of elevated LDL cholesterol in people with diabetes mellitus is less well understood. This study was conducted by Takahiro Ichikawa and team with the purpose of looking at the relationship between estimated levels of small dense low-density lipoprotein and type 2 diabetes incidence.

Researchers examined data from a health examination completed between 2008 and 2018 as part of a program run by Panasonic Corporation. There were 120,613 participants in all, and 6,080 of them went on to acquire type 2 diabetes. The algorithm employing triglyceride and LDL cholesterol was used to compute the estimated big buoyant (lb)-LDL cholesterol and sd-LDL cholesterol. The link between the lipid profiles and incidence type 2 diabetes was assessed using the Cox proportional hazard model and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

The key findings of this study were:

1. LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, estimated big buoyant (lb)-LDL cholesterol, and estimated sd-LDL cholesterol were all linked to the occurrence of type 2 diabetes, according to multivariate analysis.

2. Additionally, the estimated sd-LDL cholesterol cut-off values for incident type 2 diabetes at 10 years were 35.9 mg/dL and 0.676 mg/dL, respectively.

3. In comparison to HDL, LDL, and estimated lb-LDL cholesterol, the estimated sd-LDL cholesterol had a larger area under the curve.

In conclusion, the findings of this study clearly states that within 10 years, estimated sd-LDL levels may be a key indicator of the development of diabetes.

Reference:

Ichikawa, T., Okada, H., Hamaguchi, M., Kurogi, K., Murata, H., Ito, M., & Fukui, M. (2023). Estimated small dense low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and incident type 2 diabetes in Japanese people: Population-based Panasonic cohort study 13. In Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice (Vol. 199, p. 110665). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110665