Postprandial apolipoprotein B48 is associated with asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease: A study in patients with type 2 diabetes and controls

Postprandial hyperlipidemia is a common feature in type 2 diabetes; our aim was to investigate whether there is an association between subclinical peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and the levels of apolipoprotein B48, as a specific marker for postprandial lipidemia. We enrolled 101 patients with type 2 diabetes and 73 controls free from clinical cardiovascular disease. Main outcome measures were the presence of subclinical PAD, assessed by the ankle-brachial index, and the intestinal particles measured as the concentration of apolipoprotein B48 at fasting and 4 h after a mixed breakfast. No control had subclinical PAD. Of the 101 diabetic patients, 21 had subclinical PAD. The levels of apo B48, both fasting and postprandial, were only significantly raised in the diabetic patients who had PAD. The diabetic patients without vascular disease had similar concentrations of triglycerides and apo B48 to the controls. In binary logistic regression analyses, only smoking and postprandial B48 levels, in addition to diabetes, were independently associated with PAD. On the other hand, PAD but not diabetes was associated with the fasting and postprandial levels of apo B48. Our study suggests that apolipoprotein B48 levels might be a marker of occult PAD in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. Accordingly, subclinical PAD should be taken into account in studies on postprandial lipidemia involving patients with diabetes.