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Dietary and physiological influences on circulating blood lipids in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients

Patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) usually exhibit a marked disturbance of lipid metabolism which is reflected in high levels of plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and triglycerides, along with low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Elevated triglycerides are the major contributor to diabetic hyperlipidemia. These plasma lipid concentrations and the fatty acid composition of these lipids are clearly influenced by the type of diet consumed along with the proportion of dietary fatty acids. Therefore, it was the purpose of this investigation to examine the relationships between glycemic control, serum lipid levels of total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides to the amounts and types of fats in the typical diets of NIDDM patients as compared to non-diabetic individuals. The dietary fats were also compared with the distribution of fatty acids found in their total lipids and free (in vivo) fatty acids. The relationship between dietary fat intake and serum total lipid levels along with total and free fatty acid distributions was the primary focus.This investigation found that NIDDM subjects have significantly greater triglyceride levels (200 ± 18.4 mg/dL) than non-diabetic controls (93 ± 13.2 mg/dL). Total and LDL cholesterol levels of the NIDDM group were elevated from the control group while HDL levels were depressed, but these differences were of nonsignificant proportions. The NIDDM group typically consumed significantly lowered amounts of teal, saturated, and monounsaturated dietary fatty acids (46.7 ± 7.1 grams, 114.0 ± 2.9 grams, and 16.8 ± 2.5 grams, respectively) compared to the control group (80.0 ± 10.9 grams, 26.7 ± 4.5 grams, and 30.2 ± 4.5 grams, respectively). Even so, the percentage of kilocalories from total fat in the NIDDM vs. the control group diets was not statistically different which may explain the lack of significance between groups with regard to distribution of serum fatty acids. On an individual basis, the types of fat that predominated in the diet were also found in a large percentage in the serum lipid distributions. Positive correlations between saturated fat intake and the blood serum stearic free fatty acid along with polyunsaturated fat intake and linoleic free fatty acid supported this observation. Other investigators (6,62) have reported that dietary intake does indeed contribute to the percentage of fatty acids distributed in the plasma lipids. To determine if a particular dietary fatty acid contributes more significantly to hyperlipidemia, the diet needs to be controlled.On an individualized basis, it was also noted that the diabetics with the lowest amount and percentage of fat in their diets, also had the lowest serum lipid levels. Besides diet, other influential factors which may have contributed to the lipid levels of these NIDDM patients are genetic predisposition, environmental influences, and the stage and progression of each individual's disease. Thus, due to the underlying metabolic impairments which are exacerbated by genetic and/or environmental influences, it is of vital importance to recognize how essential diet manipulation is with regards to lipid control in the treatment of NIDDM patients. / Department of Biology

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/184570
Date January 1992
CreatorsTurkish, Michelle L.
ContributorsCraig, Bruce W.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Formatv, 61 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press

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