Data from18,422 subjects aged 40 years or more involved in a medical screening program showed a high prevalence (24.2%) of chronic kidney disease in middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese subjects. Chronic kidney disease was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. The multiadjusted odds ratio of chronic kidney disease in participants with serum triglycerides = 200 mg/dL was 1.901 (p < 0.05).

Hypertriglyceridemia: an independent risk factor of chronic kidney disease in Taiwanese adults
Lee PH;Chang HY;Tung CW;Hsu YC;Lei CC;Chang HH;Yang HF;Lu LC;Jong MC;Chen CY;Fang KY;Chao YS;Shih YH;Lin CL;
American Journal of the Medical Sciences 2009;338:185-9.

Diagnostic tests, including an exercise treadmill test and exercise thallium scintigraphy or coronary computed tomography detected a significant stenotic coronary artery disease in 55 (25.7%) out of 214 outpatients with diabetic retinopathy. Coronary artery disease was not previously suspected in these patients. Forty-two patients showed indications of coronary revascularization (coronary artery bypass grafting in 17 and percutaneous coronary intervention in 25).

Detecting occult coronary artery disease followed by early coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy: Report from a diabetic retinocoronary clinic
Ohno T;Kinoshita O;Fujita H;Kato S;Hirose A;Sigeeda T;Otomo K;Ando J;Kadowaki T;Araie M;Nagai R;Takamoto S;
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2009 Jun 16. [Epub ahead of print]

The ADVANCE trial was a factorial randomized trial of the antihypertensive combination perindopril-indapamide versus placebo, and intensive glucose control (target hemoglobin A1c = 6.5%) versus standard glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes. A recent analysis shows that, during an average 4.3-years of follow-up, the effects of the two treatments were independent and additive. Compared with no intervention, combined antihypertensive and glucose-lowering treatment reduced all-cause mortality by 18% (p=0.04), new or worsening nephropathy by 33% (p=0.005), new-onset macroalbuminuria by 54% (p<0.0001) and new-onset microalbuminuria by 26% (P < 0.001). However, there was no significant reduction in new-onset or worsening retinopathy.

Combined effects of routine blood pressure lowering and intensive glucose control on macrovascular and microvascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes: New results from the ADVANCE trial
Zoungas S;de Galan BE;Ninomiya T;Grobbee D;Hamet P;Heller S;MacMahon S;Marre M;Neal B;Patel A;Woodward M;ADVANCE Collaborative Group;Cass A;Glasziou P;Harrap S;Lisheng L;Mancia G;Pillai A;Poulter N;Perkovic V;Travert F;
Diabetes Care 2009;32:2068-74.

A cross-sectional study conducted in 11,042 hypertensive Spanish women aged 55 years or above showed a 24.7% prevalence of CVD in women with a low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration (<46 mg/dL) vs. a 18.4% prevalence in those with a normal concentration (p< 0.001). After adjustment for other risk factors, CVD prevalence was increased by 42% in women with low HDL-C levels compared to those with normal levels (p < 0.001). The study revealed an independent inverse association between HDL-C levels (in quintiles) and the prevalence of CVD, particularly for HDL-C levels <58 mg/dL.

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in Spanish hypertensive women. The RIMHA study
Coca A;Cea-Calvo L;Lozano JV;Inaraja V;Fernandez-Perez C;Navarro J;Bonet A;Redon J;Representación del Grupo de los Investigadores del Estudio RIMHA;
Revista Española de Cardiología 2009;62:1022-31.