Measuring Cholesterol in the Fasting and Postmeal State in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Current treatment guidelines for dyslipidemia focus on fasting lipid panels, specifically LDL cholesterol (LDL) but compliance has been shown to be poor. Therefore, focus has shifted to non-fasting measurements. However, there has been limited data in patients with type 2 diabetes and further study is needed to illuminate the lipid changes that occur in the non-fasting state. This observational study examines fasting and postprandial lipids in patients with type 2 diabetes using standard chemical analysis and NMR. For comparison, lipid panels will be obtained at baseline and 3 hours following a standard meal in 30 patients with type 2 diabetes. These measurements will then be analyzed based on current ATP III guidelines. We will investigate the degree to which the postprandial assessments agree with the fasting assessments and the agreement between LDL and the two alternative measures --- non-HDL and NMR-LDL.