Van der Heyden JC, Birnie E, Bovenberg SA, Cabezas MC, van der Meulen N, Mul D, Veeze HJ, Aanstoot HJ.

Do traditional cardiovascular risk factors solely explain intima-media thickening in youth with type 1 diabetes? J Diabetes Complications. 2016 Aug;30(6):1137-43.

Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) – a surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis – is significantly higher in people with type 1 diabetes, even in children and adolescents, compared with controls, according to the results of this study.

 

The cIMT was measured in a total of 178 people with type 1 diabetes, aged 9-22 years, and 208 controls. Classical cardiovascular and diabetes-related risk factors were also assessed. They were divided into two groups (younger than, and older than, 15.3 years), to investigate any effect of age.

 

Key findings:

• Median cIMT was significantly higher in people with type 1 diabetes aged <15.3 years and >15.3 years, compared with controls (0.423 mm, 0.413 mm, and 0.390 mm, respectively).
• Multiple regression analyses showed that only a few independent risk factors contributed significantly to cIMT: type 1 diabetesduration, current LDL level, current body mass index, and past HbA1c.
• The researchers concluded that cIMT was “significantly and equally increased” in both groups (< and > 15.3 years), and that this increase was largely independent of classical and diabetes-related risk factors.
• They added that contributing factors “are likely related to innate immunity and inflammation, autoimmunity and epigenetic changes”.

 

For Pubmed abstract click here.