ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess the effect of diabetes mellitus type on conventional and novel cardiovascular risk factors in patients, diagnosed with diabetes from two major referral hospitals in Jamaica, before age 25 years and with diabetes duration < 6 years.

Methods: Participants were classified based on the presence of GAD-65 and IA-2 autoantibodies, Cpeptide, leptin and clinical phenotype. Trained observers obtained anthropometric measurements and sitting blood pressure. Fasting blood was taken for glucose, A1c, lipids, high sensitivity C-reactive protein and lipoprotein profile.

Results: Fifty-eight participants (21M; 37F, age 20 ± 8 [Mean ± SD] years, diabetes duration 2.6 ± 2 years) were enrolled. Thirty-six had Type 1 diabetes (T1D), thirteen Type 2 diabetes (T2D), six were not typed and three had lipoatrophic diabetes. Patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) were more obese with a higher systolic blood pressure but a lower A1c than those with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, LDL and HDL particle numbers were similar in patients with T1D and T2D. HDL-cholesterol and LDL and HDL particle sizes were lower in patients with T2D but differences were no longer significant after adjusting for BMI.

Conclusions: Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are common in patients with all forms of youth onset diabetes. Clinicians should therefore investigate these risk factors in their patients regardless of diabetes type.