Association Between Lipid-related Parameters and the Carotid Intima-media Thickness, Relating to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction. Higher carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), indicates a greater burden of subclinical atherosclerosis (AS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The AS is related to insulin resistance and lipid oxidation. Detection of reliable and affordable surrogate markers and metabolic components for assessing the CVD risk is world-shaking. This study aimed to inspect the relationship between lipid-related parameters and CIMT, considering the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 244 participants (113 men and 131 women), including 118 diagnosed with diabetes (DM) and 126 without diabetes (nonDM). Duplex ultrasonography parameters, demographic, physical, biochemical assessments, and lipid-related parameters were measured. Correlation and linear regression analyses assessed the relationship between the lipid-related parameters and CIMT. Results. The DM patients’ levels of triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index were significantly higher than the non-DM ones, however, the two groups demonstrated no statistically significant difference in CIMT levels. CIMT was correlated with low-density lipoprotein (r = 0.33, P = .033) in the DM group and with age (r = 0.41, P < .001) in the non-DM group. The multivariate linear regression model demonstrated age, TyG-BMI, and LDL/HDL ratio as the significant associates of CIMT, with age having the largest standardized regression coefficient of 0.311 (P < .001). Conclusions. The current study revealed direct associations of CIMT with age, TyG-BMI, and LDL/HDL ratio, taking into account the DM/non-DM binary among the study participants.