Cholesterol levels and type 1 diabetes
Cholesterol (or lipid) problems in people with type 1 diabetes are usually related to the lack of insulin.
- Lack of insulin increases the level of triglycerides. Normally, insulin makes a certain enzyme remove triglycerides from the blood. When insulin is used to treat high blood sugar, the triglyceride level goes back to normal.
- A lack of insulin (and the high blood sugar that results) raises the level of "bad" cholesterol (LDL, or low-density lipoprotein). It returns to normal when insulin is given.
Data from the Diabetes Complications and Control Trial (DCCT) showed that people with type 1 diabetes had cholesterol levels similar to people without diabetes when their blood sugar levels were kept within a near-normal range.1
This does not apply to people with nephropathy, because once the kidney starts losing even small amounts of protein, cholesterol problems begin to develop.
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: October 3, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism | |
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