Speaker Abstract

Relationship of Plasma apolipoproteins AI and B and Diabetes in the Canadian Heart Health Survey

Philip W. Connelly, Ph.D., St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON Canada M5B 1A6.

A nested case-control study was performed using a stratified random sample of the men and women aged 18-74 selected from the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Quebec in 1989 and 1990. Cases with self-reported diabetes were compared to age and sex-matched controls. By univariate analyses, diabetics were significantly more obese, had higher triglycerides, lower HDL cholesterol (HDL) and apoprotein AI (AI). Apoprotein B (B) and LDL cholesterol (LDL) were not different.

The ratio of HDL to Al was used as an index of HDL particle size and composition and the ratio of LDL to B was used as an index of LDL particle size. By univariate analysis both ratios were lower in diabetics, consistent with cholesterol - poor or smaller lipoproteins. After multivariate analysis, only LDL/B remained significant.

Thus the lower AI and lower HDL/AI ratio commonly observed in diabetics could be explained by their increased obesity. LDL/B was the only lipoprotein abnormality independently affected by diabetic status.