What's the current research and understanding in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis?

Diabetes...: Almost all atherosclerosis is due to the exact things that diabetes causes: inflammation, high triglycerides and free fatty acids, small dense LDL particles, hypertension, endothelial damage and dysfunction, and many other things. This can even occur before the blood sugars become elevated, so-called "pre-diabetes", or Insulin resistance syndrome.