Associação entre diabetes mellitus e hipercolesterolemia: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is characterized by persistent hyperglycemia resulting from inefficiency in insulin action or secretion in the body and is classified into type 1 and type 2 DM. Hypercholesterolemia is defined by elevated cholesterol levels, and lipid profile assessment is the most common test in diabetic patients. In addition to significant metabolic changes, DM is often associated with a distinctive profile of hypercholesterolemia, which exacerbates dyslipidemia and may contribute to future atherogenic complications. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review of the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in diabetic patients to understand how elevated cholesterol levels can impact these individuals. A systematic literature search was performed using the Virtual Health Library with the search terms "(ti:(diabetes)) AND (ti:(cholesterol) OR ti:(hypercholesterolemia))," without publication date restrictions. A total of 58 scientific articles were identified. The first selection phase involved excluding duplicate articles, followed by the exclusion of articles that did not provide relevant information on the topic. After analysis, 17 articles with pertinent information were used to construct tables and figures for the article. In 6 (35.29%) of the 17 articles, a significant increase in cholesterol levels was observed in diabetic patients, associated with factors such as gender, advanced age, dyslipidemia, high Body Mass Index (BMI), obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, low socioeconomic status, and hypertension. In another 5 (29.41%) articles, this increase was linked to cardiovascular risk. The average prevalence of cholesterol in diabetes found in 9 of the 17 articles was 48.34%. However, the exact prevalence of hypercholesterolemia could not be determined as not all articles provided this information. Understanding the prevalence of cholesterol in diabetes, as well as other symptoms and factors that may worsen the disease, is of great importance, given that 53.8% of microvascular complications are associated with this increase, coupled with sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and hypertension. It should be emphasized that hypercholesterolemia is a significant precursor to vascular diseases, highlighting the significance of this topic in improving the quality of life of diabetic patients.