Aggressive treatment to lower high cholesterol in patients with type 1 diabetes, also known as "juvenile diabetes," an autoimmune disease that typically develops at a young age, could protect their vision as well as their cardiovascular health, a new study suggests.
Harvard researchers found that individuals with the highest levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol, had twice the risk of developing a visual problem called macular edema, or fluid in the macula of the eye, compared with those with the lowest LDL levels. Subjects with the highest ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" cholesterol had a fourfold increased risk of this eye disorder.
Clinically significant macular edema is the leading cause of vision loss in diabetics, Dr. Debra A. Schaumberg of Brigham and Women's Hospital and colleagues note. While high blood sugar has been tied to the development and progression of disease of the retina, the relationship between blood glucose control and clinically significant macular edema is not as clear.
Schaumberg and her colleagues analyzed data from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, which included 1,441 patients with type 1 diabetes followed for an average of 6.5 years. Study participants' cholesterol levels were checked annually.
The study, published in the medical journal Diabetes, is the largest investigation of its kind to-date to evaluate the relationship between clinically significant macular edema and blood cholesterol levels.
Patients in the top quarter of total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio had 3.84 times the risk of clinically significant macular edema compared with those in the lowest quarter. Those with the highest LDL levels were 1.95 more times likely to develop clinically significant macular edema.
When the patients' blood sugar levels were considered, the relationship between cholesterol levels and clinically significant macular edema was weaker, although the association remained significant.
However, no relationship was seen between cholesterol levels and the progression or development of diabetic retinopathy.
The results indicate that high cholesterol, especially the total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio, are risk factors for clinically significant macular edema, Schaumberg and her colleagues conclude. The findings may also lend further support to current treatment guidelines that recommend aggressive lowering of high cholesterol in diabetic patients, they add.
Showing posts with label cholesterol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cholesterol. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
High Cholesterol May Weaken Bones
It's no secret that high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease, but new research from Italy suggests that it may also be bad for the bones.
In a study of postmenopausal women, those with higher levels of the "bad" form of cholesterol were much more likely to show signs of bone thinning than women with normal cholesterol.
The findings do not prove that high cholesterol is to blame for bone thinning, but the results do provide a possible explanation for studies suggesting that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins protect bones, researchers report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Very little is known about how cholesterol levels may affect the risk of developing the brittle-bone disease osteoporosis. Studies that have examined the relationship between levels of LDL cholesterol - the "bad" type of cholesterol - and the risk of bone thinning have produced mixed results.
In the new study, a team led by Dr. Andrea Poli at the University of Milan measured bone density and cholesterol levels in 1,303 women ages 45 to 65 who had been through menopause.
The women were divided into three groups based on LDL levels: normal (129 mg/dL or below), moderately high (130 to 159 mg/dL) and high (160 mg/dL and above).
Compared to women with normal LDL levels, women with high levels were 74 percent more likely to have osteopenia, a bone-thinning condition just short of osteoporosis, Poli's team reports.
Osteopenia was more common in older women and in those with a low body mass index, or BMI, which is a measure of weight in relation to height. And the longer it had been since menopause, the greater were a woman's odds of having bone thinning, according to the report.
High LDL levels may weaken bones by promoting the breakdown of bone, according to the report.
But Poli's team cautions that the study is not the final word on the relationship between LDL and bone thinning. In fact, one study found that men with higher LDL levels tended to have stronger bones.
In other findings, levels of HDL, or "good," cholesterol were not related to bone density.
In a study of postmenopausal women, those with higher levels of the "bad" form of cholesterol were much more likely to show signs of bone thinning than women with normal cholesterol.
The findings do not prove that high cholesterol is to blame for bone thinning, but the results do provide a possible explanation for studies suggesting that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins protect bones, researchers report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Very little is known about how cholesterol levels may affect the risk of developing the brittle-bone disease osteoporosis. Studies that have examined the relationship between levels of LDL cholesterol - the "bad" type of cholesterol - and the risk of bone thinning have produced mixed results.
In the new study, a team led by Dr. Andrea Poli at the University of Milan measured bone density and cholesterol levels in 1,303 women ages 45 to 65 who had been through menopause.
The women were divided into three groups based on LDL levels: normal (129 mg/dL or below), moderately high (130 to 159 mg/dL) and high (160 mg/dL and above).
Compared to women with normal LDL levels, women with high levels were 74 percent more likely to have osteopenia, a bone-thinning condition just short of osteoporosis, Poli's team reports.
Osteopenia was more common in older women and in those with a low body mass index, or BMI, which is a measure of weight in relation to height. And the longer it had been since menopause, the greater were a woman's odds of having bone thinning, according to the report.
High LDL levels may weaken bones by promoting the breakdown of bone, according to the report.
But Poli's team cautions that the study is not the final word on the relationship between LDL and bone thinning. In fact, one study found that men with higher LDL levels tended to have stronger bones.
In other findings, levels of HDL, or "good," cholesterol were not related to bone density.
