ASSOCIATION OF THE APOLIPOPROTEIN B/APOLIPOPROTEIN A-1 RATIO WITH THE SEVERITY OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Although many studies have demonstrated the importance of the apoB/apoA-1 ratio as a risk marker of atherogenicity, less is known about apoB/apoA-1 ratio in predicting and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in T2DM. Our study aimed to assess possible associations between apoB/apoA-1 ratio levels and the severity of coronary artery diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Plasma levels of lipidic profile components, apolipoproteins and the apoB/apoA-1 ratio were determined in 148 CAD patients with T2DM and in 159 patients with only CAD. Cut off value of the apoB/apoA-1 ratio was determined from 207 healthy subjects. Severity of CAD was quantified according to the prevalence of multivessel disease and the degree of coronary stenose. Association between the apoB/apoA-1 ratio and the severity of CAD were evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and apoB/apoA-1 ratio. ApoB/apoA-1 ratio levels didn’t show significant differences between DM and NDM patients (DM: 0.9±0.5; NDM: 0.8±0.5; P=0.529). In contrast, difference was significant between these groups when patients were categorized according to low and high levels ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio. Highest levels of ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio were shown in patients with multivessel disease and significant stenose. The area under the ROC curve for ApoB/ApoA-1 in patients with T2DM was (0.513±0.041 (95% CI: 0.443, 0.594), P=0.749). The apoB/apoA-1 ratio is not associated with the severity of CAD in patients with T2DM in contrast to its high levels which might be contributed to the assessment of patients at high cardiovascular risk.