Analyses of Risk Factors of Ischemic Heart Disease in Diabetics Multivariate Analyses

Abstract

In order to confirm the principal risk factor of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in diabetes, multivariate analyses were performed. ST depression in electrocardiogram (ST-ECG) and 18 other clinical-laboratory findings (sex, age, duration of diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, etc.) were measured in 70 non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients. ST-ECG findings were divided into five ranges as an index of the severity of IHD, based on the assumption that the degree of ST-ECG would provide a reasonable correlation to the grade of IHD. In partial correlation analysis, the degree of ST-ECG was significantly correlated both to the level of triglyceride (r = 0.455, p<0.001) and to blood pressure (r = 0.392, p <0.01), but not to the other 16 variables. Three selected variables (blood pressure, triglyceride and atherogenic index) were sufficient to provide a satisfactory discrimination between patients with and without IHD. Five selected variables (sex, blood pressure, triglyceride, atherogenic index and weight index) were sufficient for evaluation of regression. These results suggest that the high level of triglyceride and hypertension are essential risk factors of IHD in diabetes. It is noticeable that the high level of triglyceride is one of the independent risk factors of IHD in diabetes; it does not depend on the degree of control of hyperglycemia or on the other variables. © 1983, Tohoku University Medical Press. All rights reserved.