NPPB and type 2 diabetes mellitus: This is the first study to show that the absolute NT-proBNP value and its biological variation are as wide in obese postmenopausal women with diet controlled type 2 diabetes as in obese postmenopausal women without diabetes, suggesting that type 2 diabetes perse, at least in the early stages, does not significantly alter NT-proBNP levels in this group of patients.