Characteristics of Patients With Diabetes Having Normal Coronary Arteries

Association between coronary artery atherosclerosis and plasma glucose levels assessed by dual-source computed tomography

Background

To assess the association between coronary artery atherosclerosis (CAA) and plasma glucose parameters in a randomly selected cohort of asymptomatic, community-dwelling, Chinese adults by dual-source computed tomography (DSCT).

Methods

We randomly selected participants and classified them into three groups based on their plasma glucose levels: normal glucose regulation (NGR), pre-diabetes, and diabetes mellitus (DM). The participants underwent DSCT, and those identified with CAA were divided into four groups according to the severity of their coronary artery stenosis. We analyzed the composition of plaques in all coronary artery segments according to the American Heart Association's (AHA) guidelines. We compared the severity of coronary artery stenosis and the plaque composition with plasma glucose parameters among participants.

Results

Out of a total of 335 participants, 118 were found to have CAA. The prevalence of CAA was highest (P value for trend =0.031) in the diabetic group (67.7%) followed by the pre-diabetic group (35.1%) then the NGR group (27.7%). Both calcified and mixed plaques were found in the coronary arteries of the diabetic group while mixed and non-calcified plaques predominated in the pre-diabetic and the NGR groups. When data from all subjects with CAA were analyzed, blood glucose parameters, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hr postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), exhibited a positive correlation with the severity of coronary stenosis (P<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression models indicated a significantly higher risk of CAA among the diabetic patients. Triglyceride levels were positively correlated with the blood glucose parameters among the three groups while LDL-C was elevated in the DM group but not in the pre-diabetic group compared to the NGR group.

Conclusions

The severity of CAA exhibited a direct correlation with the blood glucose parameters, FPG, PPG, and HbA1c. DSCT can accurately detect the presence and distribution of CAA in asymptomatic, community-dwelling subjects. DSCT is a useful screening tool for coronary artery disease (CAD).

[Markers of visceral adipose tissue metabolic abnormalities in patients with coronary atherosclerosis in relation to the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus]

AIM

To assess the specific features of visceral adipose tissue metabolism in patients with coronary atherosclerosis, complicated or uncomplicated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cohort of 429 patients (325 men and 104 women; mean age, 61.3±9.4 years) with coronary atherosclerosis who had been admitted to the National Research Centre for Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health of Russia, to undergo coronarography (CG) and to receive high-tech treatments and met the criteria for being included in and excluded from this investigation, was examined. The Gensini scoring scale was used to estimate the magnitude of coronary atherosclerosis from CG RESULTS: Carotid artery duplex ultrasound scanning estimating the intima-media thickness was performed in 48% of the patients. DM was diagnosed from examination results (fasting plasma glucose ≥7.0 mmol/l and glycated hemoglobin >6.5%) and an endocrinologist's report. 94% of the patients took statins.

RESULTS

Overall, 18% of the examinees had DM that was 2.5 times more common in the women than in the men (32.7 and 13.2%, respectively (p=0.000). The diabetic and non-diabetic patients showed no significant differences in age: 62.9±8.3 and 60.9±9.6 years, respectively (p=0.105). There were statistically significant differences in the magnitude of coronary artery atherosclerosis according to the Gensini scale in relation to the presence of T2DM; thus, the median Gensini score was 48 in the diabetic patients and 46 in the persons with no signs of the disease (Mann-Whitney test; p=0.03). Analysis of adipokine levels showed that the median leptin level was significantly higher than that in the male patients with T2DM than in the persons with no signs of the disease. In the patients with T2DM, the median adiponectin level turned out to be significantly lower in both men and women.

CONCLUSION

The coronary atherosclerosis severity rated using the Gensini scale is shown to increase in the presence of T2DM. The probability of detecting obvious (>45%) carotid artery lesion is associated with the presence of DM in both men and women. The male patients with T2DM concurrent with coronary atherosclerosis are noted to have an elevated leptin level, but a lower adiponectin concentration was found in both the men and women.