Effect of Raloxifene on Serum Lipids for Type 2 Diabetic Menopausal Women with or without Statin Treatment

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the effect of 1-year treatment with raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, on plasma lipid profiles in Japanese postmenopausal type 2 diabetic patients. Subjects and Methods: A total of 43 Japanese women with postmenopausal osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes with serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) 3.59 mmol/l, serum triglyceride 1.68 mmol/l and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) 1.03 mmol/l, who took 60 mg/day of raloxifene for 12 months, were enrolled. For analysis, they were divided into 2 groups: nonhyperlipidemia (n = 23) and hyperlipidemia treated with statin (n = 20). Results: Raloxifene treatment significantly induced a mean reduction in serum LDL-C from 2.90 to 2.36 and 2.67 mmol/l in the nonhyperlipidemia and statin-treated group, respectively. However, the reduction ratio of serum LDL-C showed a significant difference in the nonhyperlipidemia group (17%) compared to the statin-treated group (7%; p = 0.03). Although serum HDL-C showed an increase in both groups (from 1.45 to 1.58 vs. from 1.40 to 1.47 mmol/l), the increase ratio of serum HDL-C was not significant between the two groups. Raloxifene administration showed 15% reduction in the nonhyperlipidemia group (p = 0.02) and 13% reduction in the statin-treated group (p = 0.02) of urinary N-telopeptide of type I collagen. No significant change in blood HbA1c was observed in either group. Conclusion: The administration of raloxifene to type 2 diabetic women showed favorable efficacy on serum lipid profiles, particularly in patients without statin treatment.