Objective: To investigate serum small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) concentrations and determine the associations between sdLDL-C and selected biochemical parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Subjects and Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study included 64 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26.0 with descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Spearman's rank correlation, and multiple linear regression.
Results: The median sdLDL-C concentration was 1.10 mmol/L (0.77–1.38). sdLDL-C was higher in patients with HbA1c ≥ 7%, triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/L, and LDL-C ≥ 2.6 mmol/L than in the corresponding groups with HbA1c < 7% (p = 0.003), triglycerides < 1.7 mmol/L, and LDL-C < 2.6 mmol/L (p < 0.001). sdLDL-C correlated positively with total cholesterol (rₛ = 0.753; p < 0.001), LDL-C (rₛ = 0.696; p < 0.001), triglycerides (rₛ = 0.519; p < 0.001), glucose (rₛ = 0.452; p < 0.001), and HbA1c (rₛ = 0.370; p = 0.003), but not significantly with hs-CRP. In the multivariable model, LDL-C and triglycerides were independently associated with sdLDL-C.
Conclusion: The median sdLDL-C concentration was 1.10 mmol/L (0.77–1.38). sdLDL-C was higher in the groups with HbA1c ≥ 7%, triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/L, or LDL-C ≥ 2.6 mmol/L. LDL-C and triglycerides were independently associated with sdLDL-C in this study. sdLDL-C measurement may provide additional information about the atherogenic lipid phenotype but should not replace routine lipid parameters.