Fibrinolytic factors in relation to anthropometry and incident type 2 diabetes

University dissertation from Umeå : Umeå Universitet

Abstract: Fibrinolytic imbalance is associated with cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. The longitudinal changes in the fibrinolytic factors tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and tPA/PAI-1 complex have been inadequately studied in the general population and in relation to incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The measurements, questionnaires and blood samples prospectively collected in the World Health Organisation-project MONItoring trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) and in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) enable such studies. The samples have been stored since 1985, at the Northern Sweden Medical Research Biobank. However, it is unknown how these factors are affected by long-term storage.The aims of this thesis were to evaluate the effects of long-term storage on fibrinolytic factors, and to determine how these factors are related to incident T2DM, how these factors change over time and how these factors are related to changes in anthropometric measurements.Storage time was shown to have a negligible impact on plasma antigen levels of fibrinolytic factors. After adjustments for traditional diabetic and cardiovascular risk markers the fibrinolytic factors tPA, PAI-1 and tPA/PAI-1 complex were associated with incident T2DM. PAI-1 was associated with incident T2DM in subjects with normal fasting and 2-hour plasma glucose levels. In MONICA-Västerbotten, tPA, PAI-1 and tPA/PAI-1 complex increased over 9 years in both men and women. PAI-1 appears to interact in a complex manner with anthropometric, inflammatory, glycaemic and lipidemic measurements, but the pattern of components correlating with the changes in PAI-1 differed markedly between the sexes.In conclusion, PAI-1 is a potential risk marker of incident T2DM. PAI-1 increased markedly over nine years, but the pathophysiological background to these findings needs to be further investigated, separately for each sex.

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