Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Considering the high prevalence and significant morbidity and mortality of heart failure in type 2 diabetic patients, identification of risk factors for cardiac dysfunction is important. The ejection fraction represents how well the heart is pumping out blood and is used to diagnose heart failure. In this study, we investigated the factors associated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: A total of 369 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the present study. We conducted trans-thoracic Doppler echocardiography for evaluating cardiac function. Height, body weight, blood pressure, and biochemical markers were measured for each patient.

Result: The mean age of total patients was 61.24±12.27. The mean LVEF was 58.63±9.15%. In total patients, HDL was significantly positively correlated with LVEF (r=0.163, P=0.002). This significant association was retained in multivariate analysis adjusted for age, BMI, creatinine, haemoglobin, and presence of hypertension (r=0.164, P=0.003). In order to rule out the possibility of increasing LVEF due to diastolic heart failure, we performed subgroup analysis. In patients with type 2 diabetes who have normal diastolic function, LVEF and HDL was significantly positively correlated (r=0.246, P=0.013). Triglyceride (TG) was significantly negatively associated (r=−0.217, P=0.029). After adjusted by age, BMI, creatinine, haemoglobin, and presence of hypertension, the positive correlation between LVEF and HDL was retained (r=0.206, P=0.045). TG was not associated with LVEF after adjustment (r=−0.089, P=0.393).

Conclusion: In the present study, we found that HDL level is significantly associated with LVEF in type 2 diabetic patients with or without diastolic heart failure. This suggests that the treatment for raising HDL might have a role in the improvement of heart function in type 2 diabetic patients.