Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in relation to atherosclerotic lipid profiles in middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between AGEs and atherosclerotic lipid profiles among aging diabetic patients in Taiwan. DESIGN AND METHODS: After age and gender matching, we selected 207 diabetic subjects and 174 diabetic subjects with proteinuria. Lipid profiles, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density cholesterol-lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured using standard methods. AGEs were measured with the immunoassay method. RESULTS: In general, males were heavier; however, females had higher AGEs, fasting glucose (GLU), TC, HDL-C and LDL-C levels than males, and had higher TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, and TG/HDL-C ratios compared to males. AGEs were more strongly correlated with TG levels and TCL/LDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C and TG/HDL-C ratios when compared to glucose or hemoglobin A1c. Subjects had higher AGEs levels (≧ 2.0 AU) with more adverse lipid profiles. CONCLUSION: AGEs seem to be a good biomarker to evaluate the association between diabetes and atherosclerotic disorders in aging diabetes.