Association between fasting and postprandial triglyceride levels and carotid intima-media thickness in type 2 diabetes patients

Objective To investigate the association of fasting and postpiandial triglyceride with carotid intima-media thickness among type 2 diabetic patients in southeast China.Methods A total of 78 type 2 diabetic patients from southeast China were recruited. All the subjects underwent a standardized mixed-meal test (SMMT) and an oral glucose tolerance test. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by color doppler ultrasound examination.Results Postprandial triglyceride (PTG) after SMMT increased significantly in type 2 diabetic patients. The carotid IMT in patients with postprandial hypertriglyceridemia was sinificantly greater than that in patients with postprandial normal-triglyceridemia (0.90 mm vs 0.81 mm, P<0.05), which remained significant after adjustment for fasting TG and HDL-c levels, and the IMT in patients with fasting hypertriglyceridemia only had tendency to increase compared to patients with fasting normal-triglyceridemia (0.87 mm vs 0.84 mm, P>0.05). Conclusion The results suggest that postprandial hypertriglyeridemia may be an independent risk factor of early atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes.