Cholesterol and glucose profiles according to different fasting C-peptide levels: a cross-sectional analysis in a healthy cohort from the Czech Republic.

The relationship between glycaemia and lipoprotein metabolism has not been completely clarified, and slight differences may be found between local authors, trials and evaluated parameters. Therefore this cross-sectional study investigated fasting cholesterol and glucose levels along with the determination of atherogenic index in a cohort of healthy individuals from the Czech Republic in relation to their fasting C-peptide levels. Data were collected between 2009 and 2018 and a total of 3189 individuals were stratified by C-peptide reference range (260-1730 pmol/l) into three groups - below (n = 111), within (n = 2952) and above (n = 126). Total, HDL, LDL cholesterol and atherogenic index were used to compare lipoprotein levels by relevant C-peptide concentrations. Participants using the supplements to affect lipid or glycaemia metabolism were excluded from this study. The evaluation of blood parameters in a fasting state included correlations between C-peptide and cholesterols, differences of variances (F-test) and the comparison of lipoprotein mean values (t-test) between the groups created by the C-peptide reference range. Mean values of total (4.9, 5.1, 5.3 mmol/l), LDL (2.6, 3.1, 3.4 mmol/l) cholesterol and atherogenic index (2.1, 2.8, 3.7) were higher with increasing C-peptide levels, whereas HDL was inversely associated with fasting C-peptide concentration. A positive and negative correlation between atherogenic index (rxy = 0.36) and HDL level (rxy = -0.36) with C-peptide values was found. Differences of HDL, LDL and atherogenic index were, in particular, recorded between the groups below and above the reference range of C-peptide (p ≤ 0.001). Considerable differences (p ≤ 0.001) were also observed for the same lipoprotein characteristics between the groups above and within the C-peptide reference. Generally, the type of cholesterol is crucial for the evaluation of specific changes concerning the C-peptide range. Lipoprotein concentrations differ in relation to C-peptide - not only below and above the physiological range, but also inside and outside of it. Conclusions: Fasting levels of cholesterol, plasma glucose, and atherogenic index were strongly associated with fasting C-peptide levels in healthy individuals. Our data suggest that fasting C-peptide could serve as a biomarker for the early detection of metabolic syndrome and/or insulin resistance prior to the manifestation of type 2 diabetes.