-250G/A LIPC POLYMORPHISM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS

Introduction. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is considered a significant predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Similar to other atherosclerotic diseases, PAD appears as consequence of the interaction between multiple environmental and genetic factors. Despite its health impact and its prevalence, especially high in diabetic patients, the genetic factors underlying susceptibility to PAD are not well known. Objective. To investigate the association between the -250G/A promoter polymorphism in the hepatic lipase (LIPC) gene and the presence of peripheral arterial disease in persons with type 2 diabetes. Patients and methods. We evaluated 78 subjects without diabetes nor PAD and 138 type 2 diabetics and identified those with peripheral arterial disease according to the ankle-arm index. The -250G/A polymorphism in the promoter of the LIPC gene was studied by PCR-restriction. A logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between the rare allele and peripheral arterial disease. Results. The -250A allele (OR 2.80; 95% CI: 1.06-7.40; p < 0.05) was significantly associated with PAD in the logistic regression analysis including age, sex, waist-to-hip ratio, body-mass index, duration of diabetes, hypertension, smoking, glycated hemoglobin, triglycerides, HDL-C and LDL-C in the model. Prevalence of PAD in diabetics patientes carriers of the -250A allele was 31.3% but only 13.3% in non carriers (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Patients with type 2 diabetes who are carriers of the less frequent -250A allele in the promoter of the hepatic lipase gene are susceptible to peripheral arterial disease.