Glucose control and lipid metabolism in African American patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic hepatitis C viral infection.
OBJECTIVE
To compare lipid profiles and glucose control in African American patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without chronic hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection.


METHODS
This retrospective study conducted in an academic outpatient setting included African American patients with both type 2 diabetes and HCV, patients with HVC only, and patients with type 2 diabetes only. Serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride values were compared among all 3 patient groups.


RESULTS
The study population included 283 patients, of whom 111 had type 2 diabetes and HCV, 68 had HCV only, and 104 had type 2 diabetes only. Chronic HCV was associated with lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in patients with or without type 2 diabetes. In contrast, elevated serum triglyceride levels associated with diabetes were not reduced in patients with chronic HCV, although diabetes control was better in the diabetes group with HCV than in the diabetes group without HCV (mean hemoglobin A1c [standard error of the mean]: 7.1% [1.8%]vs 8.8% [2.1%], P<.001). HDL cholesterol was higher in the patients with earlier stages of HCV when compared with HDL cholesterol in the other 2 groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Chronic HCV infection in type 2 diabetic patients decreases serum levels of total and LDL cholesterol, but has no such protective effect on triglyceride levels. HCV infection may alter the cellular pathways of cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA. jsamantr@med.wayne.edu
Julie
J
Samantray
Suchitra
S
Zambare
Berhane
B
Seyoum
Abdul B
AB
Abou-Samra
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000502:physiology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
D001786:Blood Glucose