Relationship between lipid and glucose levels in a large European population without previous diabetes

Data from 15 population-based cohorts including 8960 men and 10,516 women aged 35-74 years from eight European countries (the DECODE study cohorts) were jointly analyzed in order to investigate the relationship between lipid and glucose levels in a large European population without history of diabetes. The prevalence of elevated triglycerides (TG), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and combined or atherogenic dyslipidaemia were higher in subjects with IFG/IGT than in normoglycaemic individuals. When using multivariate adjusted linear regression analyses, positive relationships were present between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and total cholesterol (TC), TG, non-HDL-C (TC minus HDL-C) and TC-to-HDL-C ratio, whereas there was a negative trend between FPG and HDL-C. A similar pattern was found for the relationship between lipid and 2-h plasma glucose, except that TC was not increased and HDL-C was reduced in subjects of both sexes with impaired glucose tolerance. The different lipid patterns between impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance may deserve further attention so as to evaluate the combined risks of dyslipidaemia and dysglycaemia, i.e. elevated glucose levels below the diagnostic threshold for diabetes.

Abstract

Keywords:
Cholesterol – Diabetes – Dyslipidaemia – HDL cholesterol – IFG – IGT – OGTT – Plasma glucose – Triglycerides