Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015:2015:957105.
doi: 10.1155/2015/957105. Epub 2015 Mar 19.

Age- and Gender-Related Differences in LDL-Cholesterol Management in Outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Giuseppina Russo  1 , Basilio Pintaudi  2 , Carlo Giorda  3 , Giuseppe Lucisano  2 , Antonio Nicolucci  2 , Maria Rosaria Cristofaro  4 , Concetta Suraci  5 , Maria Franca Mulas  6 , Angela Napoli  7 , Maria Chiara Rossi  2 , Valeria Manicardi  8
Affiliations

Age- and Gender-Related Differences in LDL-Cholesterol Management in Outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Giuseppina Russo et al. Int J Endocrinol. 2015.

Abstract

Background. Dyslipidemia contribute to the excess of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk observed in women with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) is the major target for CHD prevention, and T2DM women seem to reach LDL-C targets less frequently than men. Aim. To explore age- and gender-related differences in LDL-C management in a large sample of outpatients with T2DM. Results. Overall, 415.294 patients (45.3% women) from 236 diabetes centers in Italy were included. Women were older and more obese, with longer diabetes duration, higher total-cholesterol, LDL-C, and HDL-C serum levels compared to men (P < 0.0001). Lipid profile was monitored in ~75% of subjects, women being monitored less frequently than men, irrespective of age. More women did not reach the LDL-C target as compared to men, particularly in the subgroup treated with lipid-lowering medications. The between-genders gap in reaching LDL-C targets increased with age and diabetes duration, favouring men in all groups. Conclusions. LDL-C management is worst in women with T2DM, who are monitored and reach targets less frequently than T2DM men. Similarly to men, they do not receive medications despite high LDL-C. These gender discrepancies increase with age and diabetes duration, exposing older women to higher CHD risk.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
LDL-C classes according to gender and lipid-lowering treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kannel W. B., McGee D. L. Diabetes and glucose tolerance as risk factors for cardiovascular disease: the Framingham study. Diabetes Care. 1979;2(2):120–126. doi: 10.2337/diacare.2.2.120. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Huxley R., Barzi F., Woodward M. Excess risk of fatal coronary heart disease associated with diabetes in men and women: meta-analysis of 37 prospective cohort studies. British Medical Journal. 2006;332(7533):73–76. doi: 10.1136/bmj.38678.389583.7c. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mascarenhas-Melo F., Marado D., Palavra F., et al. Diabetes abrogates sex differences and aggravates cardiometabolic risk in postmenopausal women. Cardiovascular Diabetology. 2013;12(1, article 61) doi: 10.1186/1475-2840-12-61. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yusuf P. S., Hawken S., Ôunpuu S., et al. Effect of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with myocardial infarction in 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study. The Lancet. 2004;364(9438):937–952. doi: 10.1016/s0140-67360417018-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rivellese A. A., Riccardi G., Vaccaro O. Cardiovascular risk in women with diabetes. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. 2010;20(6):474–480. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2010.01.008. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources