Background and objectives: Reduction of blood lipids may aid in preventing diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), but evidence remains conflicting. We investigated the association between lipid parameters and DPN risk in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM and a cross-sectional study using a clinically recruited T2DM cohort. Triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and non-HDL cholesterol were measured in routine diabetes care. Each lipid parameter was categorized according to the latest cutoffs in clinical guidelines on dyslipidemia. DPN was assessed with validated hospital diagnosis codes in the population-based cohort and with the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument questionnaire in the clinical cohort. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) using Cox regression and prevalence ratios (PRs) using Poisson regression.
Results: We included 61,853 individuals in the population-based cohort (median age 63 [quartiles 54-72] years) and 4,823 in the clinical cohort (median age 65 [quartiles 57-72] years). The incidence rate of hospital-diagnosed DPN in the population-based cohort was 3.6 per 1000 person-years during a median follow-up of 7.3 years. Achieving guideline targets for HDL, LDL, and non-HDL cholesterol showed no association with DPN risk. By contrast, adjusted HRs (95% CI) for DPN were 1.02 (0.89-1.18) for triglyceride levels between 150 and 204 mg/dL (1.7-2.3 mmol/L) and 1.28 (1.13-1.45) for levels >204 mg/dL (2.3 mmol/L). In the clinical cohort with a DPN prevalence of 18%, DPN associated strongly with triglycerides >204 mg/dL (2.3 mmol/L) with an adjusted PR (95% CI) of 1.40 (1.21-1.62). The prevalence of DPN was modestly elevated for individuals with HDL cholesterol <39 mg/dL (1.0/1.3 mmol/L) in men and <50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L) in women (PR 1.13 [0.99-1.28]) and for individuals with non-HDL cholesterol >131 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) (PR 1.27 [1.05-1.52]). In both cohorts, spline models showed an increasing risk of DPN starting from triglyceride levels >124 mg/dL (1.4 mmol/L). All results were similar among statin users.
Discussion: High triglyceride levels are a strong DPN risk factor. Future intervention studies shall determine whether triglyceride reduction is more important for DPN prevention than reduction of other lipids.