Arterial Stiffness Is Increased in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Without Cardiovascular Disease: A potential role of low-grade inflammation Full Text
Diabetes Care, 03/05/2012

Llaurado G et al. – Arterial stiffness assessed as aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) is increased in patients with type 1 diabetes without clinical cardiovascular disease, independently of classical cardiovascular risk factors. In men with type 1 diabetes, low–grade inflammation is independently associated with arterial stiffness.

• Sixty–eight patients with type 1 diabetes and 68 age– and sex–matched healthy subjects were evaluated.
• Arterial stiffness was assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV).
• Serum concentrations of high–sensitivity C–reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin (IL)–6, and soluble fractions of tumor necrosis factor–α receptors 1 and 2 (sTNFαR1 and sTNFαR2, respectively) were measured.
• All statistical analyses were stratified by sex.

• Subjects with diabetes had a higher aPWV compared with healthy control subjects (men: 6.9 vs. 6.3 m/s, P < 0.001; women: 6.4 vs. 6.0 m/s, P = 0.023).
• These differences remained significant after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors.
• Men with diabetes had higher concentrations of hsCRP (1.2 vs. 0.6 mg/L; P = 0.036), IL–6 (0.6 vs. 0.3 pg/mL; P = 0.002), sTNFαR1 (2,739 vs. 1,410 pg/mL; P < 0.001), and sTNFαR2 (2,774 vs. 2,060 pg/mL; P < 0.001).
• Women with diabetes only had higher concentrations of IL–6 (0.6 vs. 0.4 pg/mL; P = 0.039).
• In men with diabetes, aPWV correlated positively with hsCRP (r = 0.389; P = 0.031) and IL–6 (r = 0.447; P = 0.008), whereas in women with diabetes no significant correlation was found.
• In men, multiple linear regression analysis showed that the following variables were associated independently with aPWV: age, BMI, type 1 diabetes, and low–grade inflammation (R² = 0.543).
• In women, these variables were age, BMI, mean arterial pressure, and type 1 diabetes (R² = 0.550).