Associations Between Serum Vitamin D, Atherogenic Indices of Plasma and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers Among Patients with Diabetes in the KERCADR Study

Background: We sought the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) levels and atherogenic indices of plasma as novel predictive biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: The present study was a nested case-control study conducted on 252 participants with T2DM and controls from the second phase of the KERCADR cohort study. The participants with a mean (±SD) age of 49.79 ± 5.85 years were randomly selected and allocated into case and control groups. Independent t-test, Hierarchical Linear Regression, Univariate ANOVA, and partial correlation were used for analysis the data. Atherogenic indices of plasma include Castelli Risk Index I (CRI I), Castelli Risk Index II (CRI II), and the novel Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), and Atherogenic Coefficient (AC).

Results: There was a significant difference among case and control groups for AIP in males and females (P < 0.001 and P = 0.007, respectively). The levels of AIP, CRI I, and AC significantly decreased (P = 0.017, P = 0.029, and P = 0.029, respectively) with improved serum vitamin D status only in control male participants. The main effect of BMI and vitamin D status on AIP, CRI I, and AC, and the main effect of BMI on CRI I, CRI II, and AC were significant in control males and females, respectively.

Conclusion: We conclude that there is a reverse significant association between AIP and serum vitamin D among healthy males. Low serum level of vitamin D is associated with atherogenic dyslipidemia. Therefore, improving vitamin D status as an important indicator may alleviate AIP as a surrogate marker for predicting the risk of CVD events in healthy men and women with normal BMI.