Small,dense LDL and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in metabolic syndrome with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aim: to clarify the clinical significance of small,dense ldl (sldl) in the metabolic syndrome associated with type 2 diabetes. methods: one hundred and ten healthy non-diabetic and non-metabolic syndrome subjects (58 male/52 female),77 non-metabolic diabetic subjects (62/15),58 non-diabetic metabolic subjects (25/33),and 46 metabolic diabetic subjects (29/17) were enrolled in this study. results: the subjects with metabolic syndrome (both with and without type 2 diabetes) had signifi-cantly higher fasting blood glucose,total-cholesterol (c),ldl-c,triglyceride,sldl-c and hs-crp levels than non-metabolic and non-diabetic subjects. hdl-c levels were significantly decreased in the former compared to the latter. among the metabolic syndrome subjects,those with type 2 diabe-tes had significantly higher fasting blood glucose,systolic blood pressure and hs-crp values than those without diabetes. sldl-c,ldl-c and hs-crp were the highest and hdl-c was lowest in the metabolic syndrome with diabetes group. a multiple regression analysis revealed the most signifi-cant determinant of sldl-c to be ldl-c,followed by hdl-c,total-c,metabolic syndrome,type 2 diabetes mellitus,and triglyceride. conclusion: metabolic syndrome is a significant determinant of the plasma sldl-c level. hs-crp was the highest in the metabolic syndrome patients with type 2 diabetes. therefore,type 2 diabetes may further increase the risk of coronary artery disease in the metabolic syndrome subjects through cardiovascular inflammation.