Background: The occurrence of ischemic heart disease in type 2 diabetic patients is very common and the cause is still not clear. Serum leptin had been accused to be the missing link between diabetes and coronary heart disease, but the mechanism is still not known. Serum lipids may contribute in this mechanism.
Objective: This study has been performed to seek the possible relationship between serum leptin concentration and blood lipid concentration in diabetic patients with ischemic heart disease.
Material and methods: The study included sixty subjects from the Internal Medicine Department inpatients of the Medical Research Institute Hospital who were previously admitted and diagnosed as group l: Type 2 diabetes with stable angina [15 patients], group ll: Type 2 DM with unstable angina, group lll: Type 2 DM with myocardial infarction and group lV: was 15 patients chosen as control group. All patients and controls were subjected to complete clinical and endocrinological examination. All patients and controls were subjected to estimation of fasting and post prandial blood glucose, high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-ch], low density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-ch], total cholesterol [TC], and triacylglycerol [TG]. All patients and controls have been subjected to estimation of fasting serum leptin level.
Results: No statistically significant correlation has been found between serum leptin and both fasting and post prandial blood glucose in all patients groups but when blood lipids were added, the correlation becomes positive. A statistically significant positive correlation has been found between [FBG, PPBG] and LDL-ch, TC, TG in all patients groups, whereas the correlation with HDL-ch was negative. A statistically significant positive correlation has been found between serum leptin and LDL-ch, TC and TG. The correlation was negative with HDL-ch.
Conclusion: Increased levels of leptin together with decreased HDL-ch and increased TC, TG and LDL-ch are associated with unstable angina and acute mayocardial infarction. These finding support the theory that leptin levels should be monitored amongst other markers of cardiovascular risk.