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Post-Meal Glucose Peaks at Home Associate with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Type 2 Diabetes

Chair and Division of Metabolic Diseases (K.E., M.C., D.C., B.S., L.S., D.D.T., L.M., F.S., D.G.), Second University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy; and Warwick Medical School (A.C.), University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dario Giugliano, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Metabolic Diseases, Department of Geriatrics and Metabolic Diseases, Second University of Naples, Piazza L. Miraglia, 80138 Napoli, Italy. E-mail: dario.giugliano{at}unina2.it.

Context: Two-hour postprandial hyperglycemia is related to chronic complications of diabetes and is currently used in the international guidelines to drive the therapy.

Objective: Our objective was to assess the size and timing of post-meal glucose peaks in the everyday life of type 2 diabetic patients and the relationship with carotid atherosclerosis.

Design, Setting, and Patients: This was an observational study performed in 644 outpatients with type 2 diabetes attending diabetes clinics located in the area of the Campania County, South Italy, who provided complete home blood glucose profiles and centralized carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) assessment. The study was conducted from 2001–2005.

Main Outcome Measures: Incremental glucose peak (IGP) was the maximal incremental increase in blood glucose obtained at any point after the meal. CIMT was assessed by carotid sonography.

Results: The level of glycosylated hemoglobin and CIMT progressively increased across quintiles of IGP (P for trend = 0.01 for both). In univariate analysis, all examined glycemic parameters were significantly correlated with CIMT. IGP (r = 0.40; P = 0.006) showed the strongest correlation with CIMT, which remained significant in multiple linear regression analysis (R² = 0.26; P = 0.01). IGP was associated with a significant increase of CIMT in tertiles of glycosylated hemoglobin. IGP occurred within 1 h from the start of the meal in 95% of the entire diabetic population.

Conclusion: IGPs are frequent in the everyday life of patients with type 2 diabetes, occur for most (95%) within 1 h after meal, timing of IGPs is not influenced by treatment (diet or drugs), and IGPs correlate with CIMT.

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