PORTLAND, Ore.—Increasing levels of the good cholesterol high-density lipoproteins (HDL) helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke among patients with diabetes, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente conducted an observational study that included 30,067 patients who entered Kaiser Permanente diabetes registries in Oregon, Washington and Georgia between 2001 and 2006. Patients had at least two HDL cholesterol measurements between 6 and 24 months apart. Sixty-one percent of the patients had no significant change in HDL levels; in 22% of patients had increased HDL levels by at least 6.5 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter of blood); 17% of patients had decreased HDL levels by at least that same amount. After obtaining the cholesterol measurement, researchers followed the patients for up to 8 years to see if they were hospitalized for a heart attack or stroke. Patients whose HDL levels increased had 8% fewer heart attacks and strokes than patients whose HDL levels remained the same, while patients whose HDL levels decreased had 11% more heart attacks and strokes.
"Our study adds to the growing body of evidence that raising HDL levels may be an important strategy for reducing heart attack risk," said study lead author Gregory Nichols, PhD, senior investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.
