Assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors and its association with Framingham risk score in Indian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The present study was conducted to assess biochemical markers and Framingham risk score (FRS) (30-year risk of cardiovascular diseases) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and compare with hypertensive and healthy controls. We also evaluated the influence of systolic blood pressure and duration of DM on biochemical markers and their correlation with the FRS in patients with T2DM. The study groups consisted of patients with T2DM (>5 years) with hypertension (n = 55), newly diagnosed T2DM <2 years without hypertension (n = 28), hypertensive controls (n = 31), and healthy controls (n = 30). After detailed medical history, all the participants were subjected to anthropometric measurements and biochemical estimations like blood sugar (fasting and post-prandial), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, lipid profile, and microalbumin levels, and FRS was calculated. The blood sugar, HbA1c, cholesterol (total and low-dense lipoprotein), microalbumin, as well as FRS were elevated in patients with T2DM compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was observed between the FRS and blood sugar, HbA1c, and microalbumin in patients with long-term T2DM. Also, duration of DM significantly influenced levels of serum triglycerides, HbA1c, and microalbumin. This study reveals that elevated blood sugar, HbA1c, and microalbumin levels are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in patients with long-term diabetes mellitus.