Cardiovascular risk factors in fasting and postprandial lipid profiles among type 2 diabetes patients

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) dominates Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) mortality, yet fasting lipid profiles may miss atherogenic postprandial lipemia effects. Therefore, it is of interest to compare fasting versus postprandial lipids (4h post-high-fat meal) in 240 T2DM patients against Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT) as atherosclerosis surrogate. Fasting Low-Density lipoprotein (LDL) showed moderate CIMT correlation (r=0.68, p=0.001), but postprandial triglycerides/remnant cholesterol demonstrated stronger associations and independent multivariate prediction. Fasting triglycerides lacked significance. Postprandial lipids advance T2DM CVD risk assessment beyond fasting measures, supporting non-fasting protocols for better stratification.