Understanding Diabetic Dyslipidemia: The Link Between Cholesterol and Diabetes Complications

Do you know diabetes can negatively influence and increase the cholesterol level of the patients? This condition is known as diabetic dyslipidemia, which can increase the cardiovascular risk of diabetic patients. However, this condition can be controlled by following proper medication, diet, and exercise, which helps to reduce the impact of high cholesterol levels in patients. Today, we are going to explore diabetic dyslipidemia and its treatments and management in this article.

What is Diabetes Dyslipidemia?

Diabetic Dyslipidemia is a condition in which the lipoprotein metabolism is affected in diabetes patients. Diabetes dyslipidemia can lead to high triglyceride concentration, low HDL cholesterol concentration, and increased concentration of small dense LDL-cholesterol particles in blood. These changes can be involved in the increased cardiovascular risk of diabetic patients. 

Diabetes can damage the inner lining of the arteries, making the arteries more sticky to cholesterol and leading to the narrowing or blocking of the arteries. This leads to the risk of cardiovascular events in diabetic patients.

It is estimated that approximately 80% of diabetic patients die due to cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is highly related to diabetic dyslipidemia.

Symptoms of Diabetes Dyslipidemia

Patients with diabetes dyslipidemia may have the following symptoms which are given below:

Stomach pain: Individuals may experience frequent stomach pain or ache.

Chest pain: You may have increased chest pain due to diabetic dyslipidemia.

Breathing difficulties: Individuals may experience breathing difficulty.

Muscle pain: You may have muscle pain during diabetic dyslipidemia.

Confusion: Individuals may experience confusion or have difficulty recognizing things.

Diagnosis

Lipid profiling: Individuals with type 2 diabetes should monitor the fasting lipid profile. If the patient has a normal lipid value, it can be repeated after one year. If abnormal, the test should be repeated every four to six months.

Treatment and management of Diabetic Dyslipidemia

1. Lifestyle Modifications:

Dietary Changes: It is recommended to adopt a diet that contains a low saturated and trans fat content and is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins to maintain lipid levels.

Regular Exercise: It is crucial to do regular physical activity which aids in improving insulin sensitivity and lowering triglyceride levels.

Weight Management: It is crucial to maintain an ideal weight to manage diabetes dyslipidemia in individuals.

2. Medications:

Statins: Statins are the first medication choice that helps lower patients' LDL cholesterol levels. It is a class of medication that belongs to the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors class, which helps reduce the production of bad cholesterol (LDL) inside the liver.

Ezetimibe: This medication reduces the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines and can be used alone or in combination with a statin.

Fenofibrate: These medications primarily target triglyceride levels and can also increase HDL cholesterol. They may be prescribed in combination with statins.

Niacin: It is used to reduce LDL cholesterol by blocking the fatty acid release from the adipose tissue.

PCSK9 Inhibitors: It significantly reduced LDL, in particular, oxidized low-density lipoprotein without causing any adverse reaction on the glycaemic index of diabetic patients.

Saroglitazar: Bilypsa tablets are medicines containing an active ingredient called Saroglitazar. It belongs to a class known as a dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist. It is used to treat diabetic dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia (high level of triglycerides in the blood) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus that is not controlled by statin medication.

 Antidiabetic medicines and cholesterol-lowering medicine play a crucial role in reducing the risk of diabetic dyslipidemia and cardiovascular events.

3. Blood Sugar Control:

It is important to reduce or maintain the blood glucose level by taking medicine for diabetes. It will help to reduce the risk of CVD in diabetic dyslipidemia.

Regular Monitoring:

Regular monitoring of lipid levels and other relevant parameters is essential to assess the effectiveness of treatment and make adjustments to it.

4. Quit Smoking:

Smoking can worsen the cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetic dyslipidemia. Hence, it is recommended to quit smoking to avoid the risk of cardiovascular events in patients.

Conclusion

Diabetic dyslipidemia is a crucial condition that can lead to cardiovascular problems if untreated. It recommended engaging with your healthcare professional to get a tailored treatment for diabetic dyslipidemia. It is also important to manage diabetes and factors (hypertension) which increase the risk of cardiovascular events in patients. Proper guidance and support can help the patient to overcome diabetic dyslipidemia and its risk factors associated with it.