Relationships between obesity, glycemic control, and cardiovascular risk factors: a pooled analysis of cross-sectional data from Spanish patients with type 2 diabetes in the preinsulin stage

BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), but reports conflict regarding the association between obesity and macrovascular complications. In this study, we investigated associations between cardiovascular risk factors and body mass index (BMI) and glycemic control in non-insulin-treated patients with T2D. METHODS Authors gathered cross-sectional data from five observational studies performed in Spain. Generalized logit models were used to analyze the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors (independent variables) and 5 BMI strata (<25 kg/m2, 25 to <30 kg/m2, 30 to <35 kg/m2, 35 to <40 kg/m2, ≥40 kg/m2) and 5 glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) strata (≤6.5%, >6.5-7%, >7-8%, >8-9%, >9%) (dependent outcomes). RESULTS In total, data from 6442 patients were analyzed. Patients generally had mean values of investigated cardiovascular risk factors outside recommended thresholds. Younger patients had higher BMI, triglyceride levels and HbA1c than their older counterparts. Diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels were directly correlated with BMI strata, whereas an inverse correlation was observed between BMI strata and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, patient age, and duration of T2D. Increased duration of T2D and total cholesterol levels, and decreased HDL-C levels were associated with a higher HbA1c category. BMI and HbA1c levels were not associated with each other. CONCLUSIONS As insulin-naïve patients with T2D became more obese, cardiovascular risk factors became more pronounced. Higher BMI was associated with younger age and shorter duration of T2D, consistent with the notion that obesity at an early age may be key to the current T2D epidemic. Glycemic control was independent of BMI but associated with abnormal lipid levels. Further efforts should be done to improve modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.