FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ATHEROGENIC DYSLIPIDEMIA IN SAUDI TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS

Background: This project was aimed to study the prevalence of desirable and high risk levels of lipid profiles in Saudi type 2 diabetics according to ATP III guidelines. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at College of Medicine of King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 507 Saudi type 2 diabetic patients were randomly selected. Selection criteria include Saudi National of any sex aged more than 25 years. No exclusion criteria except those patients who did not complete the investigations needed for this study. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). We assessed the percentage of patients falling into desirable, borderline and high risk categories according to the criteria laid down by Adult Treatment Panel III of American Medical Association. Results: It was found that 56.6, 23.6, 77.1 and 48.9 percent of diabetic subjects had borderline to high risk levels of TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C respectively. Conclusions: It is concluded that type 2 diabetic patients have a high frequency of atherogenic dyslipidemia especially for TC, LDL-C and HDL-C. It is suggested that along with glycemic control physicians should focus more on lipid profiles also