1.
Elevated Serum Small Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol May Increase the Risk and Severity of Coronary Heart Disease and Predict Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Huang, J, Gu, JX, Bao, HZ, Li, SS, Yao, XQ, Yang, M, Li, Y, Zhang, AM, Yin, Y, Zhang, N, et al
Disease markers. 2021;:5597028
Abstract
BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a common and severe complication in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Increased amount of circulatory small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) particles is known to be a sign of dyslipidemia and can result in atherosclerosis. However, the association between serum sdLDL-C levels and CHD in T2DM patients remains unclear. METHODS A total of 3684 T2DM patients who received selective coronary angiography (CAG) were selected. For analyzing the association between sdLDL-C and CHD severity in T2DM, the patients with CHD were further divided into four subgroups according to the quartiles of sdLDL-C. A multivariate logistic regression was used for analyzing the risks and severity of CHD. A total of 3427 patients with continuous stable CHD were recruited and followed up for 5 years. RESULTS Serum sdLDL-C levels in the CHD group were significantly increased compared with those in the non-CHD group [0.80 (0.49) mmol/L vs. 0.70 (0.30) mmol/L, p < 0.001]. The results from CHD subgroup analysis indicated that the sdLDL-C levels in patients with multiple-vessel disease and high Gensini score (GS) were significantly increased. By adjusting the confounding factors and analyzing with multiple logistic regression, we found that sdLDL-C independently correlated with the presence and severity of CHD (CHD: OR = 2.257; multiple-vessel disease: OR = 3.288; high GS: OR = 2.554). A total of 484 major cardiovascular events (MACEs) were documented. After Kaplan-Meier analysis and chi-squared analysis, the incidence of MACEs in the high sdLDL-C group was higher than that in the low sdLDL-C group (16.04% vs. 12.25%, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION In T2DM patients, elevated serum sdLDL-C may increase the severity of CHD and predict cardiovascular events in the future. Therefore, serum sdLDL-C may be a potential biomarker for the surveillance of CHD in T2DM patients.
2.
Efficacy and safety of turmeric and curcumin in lowering blood lipid levels in patients with cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Qin, S, Huang, L, Gong, J, Shen, S, Huang, J, Ren, H, Hu, H
Nutrition journal. 2017;(1):68
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dyslipidemia is an important and common cardiovascular risk factor in the general population. The lipid-lowering effects of turmeric and curcumin are unconfirmed. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of turmeric and curcumin in lowering blood lipids in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Ovid, Medline and Cochrane Library databases to identify randomized controlled trials (published as of November 2016) that assessed the effect of turmeric and curcumin on blood lipid levels including total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the effect. RESULTS The analysis included 7 eligible studies (649 patients). Turmeric and curcumin significantly reduced serum LDL-C (SMD = -0.340, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.530 to -0.150, P < 0.0001) and TG (SMD = -0.214, 95% CI: -0.369 to -0.059, P = 0.007) levels as compared to those in the control group. These may be effective in lowering serum TC levels in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS, SMD = -0.934, 95% CI: -1.289 to -0.579, P < 0.0001), and turmeric extract could possibly have a greater effect on reducing serum TC levels (SMD = -0.584, 95% CI: -0.980 to -0.188, P = 0.004); however, the efficacy is yet to be confirmed. Serum HDL-C levels were not obviously improved. Turmeric and curcumin appeared safe, and no serious adverse events were reported in any of the included studies. CONCLUSIONS Turmeric and curcumin may protect patients at risk of CVD through improving serum lipid levels. Curcumin may be used as a well-tolerated dietary adjunct to conventional drugs. Further research is required to resolve uncertainties related to dosage form, dose and medication frequency of curcumin.