Targeting LDL Dyslipidemia for Controlling Progression of Nephropathy in Diabetic Population: A Cross Sectional Analytical Study

• Published in: Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences
• Main Author: Kamran Mahmood Aziz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dow University of Health Sciences 2013-06-01
• Subjects: Diabetes; Dyslipidemia; LDL-Cholesterol; Microalbuminuria
• Online Access: https://www.jduhs.com/index.php/jduhs/article/view/1517
• ISSN: 1995-2198; 2410-2180

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to find out the correlation and cause effect relationship between LDL cholesterol and nephropathy in diabetic population. Design: Retrospective cross sectional analytical study. Patients and Methods: A total of 883 adult diabetic patients were selected for this study. Serum LDL cholesterol, creatinine, urine macroalbumin and microalbumin were measured by standardized laboratory methodology. LDL>100mg/dl was labeled as dyslipidemia and presence of microalbuminria or macroalbuminuria was defined as nephropathy. Results: Out of 883 patients, 630 patients (71.3%) showed dyslipidemia while 253 patients (28.7%) were found to have nephropathy. Subjects with dyslipidemia (LDL>100) showed slightly higher serum creatinine levels with mean 1.022±0.74 mg/dl as compared to those without dyslipidemia with mean creatinine 1.004±0.63 mg/dl. However subjects labeled with nephropathy demonstrated marked elevated serum LDL cholesterol with mean 125.7±44.8 mg/dl as compared to those without nephropathy where LDL mean was 114±39 mg/dl. Spearman's correlation for cause effect relationship between serum LDL and nephropathy was highly significant (p <0.001). Conclusion: The observed data indicate that higher LDL levels are associated with raised creatinine levels, development and progression of nephropathy. Controlling LDL dyslipidemia is one of the effective strategies towards diabetes management to prevent diabetic nephropathy.