Plasma Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 Levels Correlated with the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Long-Term Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

• Main Author: Kazuhiko Kotani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: arterial stiffness; atherosclerosis; CAVI; disease duration; platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase; Lp-PLA2
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/17/5/634

The circulating levels of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) can be a simple, but practical and useful marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). As limited studies are available in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), further studies are needed to establish the clinical application of Lp-PLA2 in DM practice. The present study investigated the correlation between Lp-PLA2 and the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a recent marker of arterial stiffness, in DM patients according to their diabetes duration. Clinical data, including the plasma Lp-PLA2 mass and CAVI values, were collected from CVD-free type 2 DM female patients (n = 65, mean age 62 years, mean hemoglobin A1c 7.0%). The Lp-PLA2 level of patients with a diabetes duration of <10 years (n = 40:20.2 IU/mL) was not significantly different from that of patients with a diabetes duration of ≥10 years (n = 25:20.5 IU/mL), while the CAVI level was significantly higher in patients with ≥10 years (9.0) than in those with <10 years (8.1; p < 0.05). A stepwise multiple regression analysis found a positive correlation between the Lp-PLA2 and CAVI levels (β = 0.43, p < 0.01) in patients with a diabetes duration of ≥10 years. This correlation between Lp-PLA2 and CVAI suggests the possible use of Lp-PLA2 in DM patients with long-term disease. Further studies on Lp-PLA2 are warranted in DM practice in relation to the disease duration.