LEVELS OF VON-WILLEBRAND-FACTOR, INSULIN-RESISTANCE SYNDROME AND A COMMON VWF GENE POLYMORPHISM IN NONINSULIN-DEPENDENT (TYPE-2) DIABETES-MELLITUS

To examine the association between von Willebrand Factor (VWF) concent rations and features of the insulin resistance syndrome, 208 patients with Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes (NIDDM) and 80 healthy co ntrols were studied. A restriction fragment length polymorphism in exo n 12 of the VWF gene, detected by Aat II endonuclease, was also examin ed. vWF concentrations were elevated in the patient group (patients 1. 28 IU ml(-1) vs controls 1.12 IU ml(-1), p = 0.003). Genotype frequenc ies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and genotype did not relate to vWF levels: means (95 % Cl) were AA 1.29 (1.29-1.44) IU ml(-1) n = 155 . vWF correlated with (r = 0.23, p < 0.001), and fibrinogen (r = 0.22, p = 0.002) in the patient group, but was unrelated to blood lipids, H bA(1C), body mass index, glucose, hypertension and smoking. In a linea r regression model, age and insulin remained as independent predictors of VWF levels, explaining 16 % of inter-individual variance in the pa tient group. In conclusion, these findings show VWF concentrations are elevated in NIDDM and are weakly related to features of the insulin r esistance syndrome. No relationship was demonstrated between the gene polymorphism studied and vWF concentrations in this group.