Prevalence of increased arterial stiffness in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus differs by measurement site and sex: the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study

Assessment of arterial stiffness in paediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

AIMS

To investigate early indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), focusing on pulse wave velocity (PWV) and its associations with various anthropometric and glycemic parameters.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 124 children and adolescents with T1D (mean age 10.75 ± 3.57 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric data, including height, weight, body mass index (BMI), glycemic parameters, such as HbA1c and time in range (TIR) were assessed. PWV was assessed by oscillometric method using the Mobil-O-Graph PWA device. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were used to explore the association of PWV z-score with anthropometric, demographic, and glycaemic variables.

RESULTS

Significant negative association between PWV and age and height (β = -0.336, 95 % CI -0.44 to -0.25, p < 0.001 and β = -0.491, 95 % CI -0.62 to -0.36, p < 0.001, respectively), while gender showed a significant positive association with PWV, with females displaying higher PWV values compared to males (β = 0.366, 95 % CI 0.17 to 0.56, p < 0.001). TIR was positively associated with PWV (β = 0.092, 95 % CI 0.01 to 0.16, p = 0.017 only for patients having TIR ≤ 50 %. Finally, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were positively associated with PWV (β = 0.086, 95 % CI 0.02 to 0.14, p = 0.007 and β = 0.152, 95 % CI 0.07 to 0.23, p < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Youth with T1DM who spend <50 % of time in range exhibit uniquely increased signs of arterial stiffness, indicating that poor glycemic control may contribute to early vascular damage. Differences related to age, gender and height should be considered.

Role of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors on Vascular and Myocardial Structure and Function in Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

To estimate associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviors and early markers of cardiovascular diseases in adolescents with and without type 1 diabetes.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional data stem from the CARdiovascular Disease risk in pEdiatric type 1 diAbetes (CARDEA) study, a study investigating early cardiovascular disease development in 100 adolescents with type 1 diabetes recruited at Sainte-Justine University Hospital Diabetes Clinic and 97 healthy adolescents without diabetes (14-18 years), in Montreal, Canada. Outcomes included arterial stiffness by pulse-wave velocity, endothelial function (velocity time integral) by flow-mediated dilation test, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging markers. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time were estimated by accelerometry and leisure screen time by questionnaire. We estimated multivariable linear regression models stratified by group.

RESULTS

In adolescents with type 1 diabetes, 10-minutes daily increase in MVPA was associated with 3.69 g/m (95% CI: -1.16; 8.54) higher left ventricular (LV) mass/height and 1-hour increase in device-measured sedentary time with 0.68 mm (0.20; 1.16) higher wall thickness but only in those with glycated hemoglobin ≤7.5%. In healthy adolescents, a 10-minute increase in MVPA was associated with 1.32 g/m (-0.03; 2.66) higher LV mass/height. Every 1-hour increase in sedentary time was associated with -1.82 cm (-3.25; -0.39) lower velocity time integral, -2.99 g/m (-5.03; -0.95) lower LV mass/height, and -0.47 mm (-0.82; -0.12) lower wall thickness.

CONCLUSIONS

Being active and limiting sedentary time appears beneficial for cardiac structure and endothelial function in healthy adolescents; however, adequate glycemic control combined with higher levels of MVPA may be required for adolescents with type 1 diabetes to overcome the impact of diabetes.

14. Children and Adolescents: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2024

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) "Standards of Care in Diabetes" includes the ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, an interprofessional expert committee, are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA's clinical practice recommendations and a full list of Professional Practice Committee members, please refer to Introduction and Methodology. Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional.diabetes.org/SOC.

Non-invasive detection of early microvascular changes in juveniles with type 1 diabetes

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

The study aimed to assess the usefulness of capillaroscopy and photoplethysmography in the search for early vascular anomalies in children with type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

One hundred sixty children and adolescents aged 6-18, 125 patients with type 1 diabetes, and 35 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. We performed a detailed clinical evaluation, anthropometric measurements, nailfold capillaroscopy, and photoplethysmography.

RESULTS

Patients with diabetes had more often abnormal morphology in capillaroscopy (68.60%, p = 0.019), enlarged capillaries (32.6%, p = 0.006), and more often more over five meandering capillaries (20.90%, p = 0.026) compared to healthy controls. Meandering capillaries correlated with higher parameters of nutritional status. In a photoplethysmography, patients with diagnosed neuropathy had a higher percentage of flow disturbance curves (p < 0.001) with a reduced frequency of normal curves (p = 0.050).

CONCLUSIONS

Capillaroscopic and photoplethysmographic examinations are non-invasive, painless, fast, and inexpensive. They are devoid of side effects, and there are no limitations in the frequency of their use and repetition. The usefulness of capillaroscopy and photoplethysmography in the study of microcirculation in diabetic patients indicates the vast application possibilities of these methods in clinical practice.

"Arterial stiffness is not associated with changes in the circadian pattern of blood pressure in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction"

INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) associates an abnormal circadian pattern in blood pressure (BP) regulation that might be aggravated by the coexistence of arterial stiffness. We aimed to evaluate the effect of arterial stiffness in the circadian rhythm of BP in patients with type 1 diabetes and CAN.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study including 56 consecutive patients with type 1 diabetes and CAN, with (n = 28) or without (n = 24) arterial stiffness as defined by an ankle-brachial index above 1.2. CAN was diagnosed by BP and heart rate responses to active standing and cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests. Absence of nocturnal decrease in BP-"non-dipping" pattern- was defined by a daytime to nighttime decrease in mean BP smaller than 10%.

RESULTS

The study's subjects mean age was 40 ± 11 years-old, their mean duration of diabetes was 22 ± 10 years, and their mean A_1c was 7.9 ± 1.5%. A "non-dipping" pattern was observed in 28 patients (54%) regardless of the presence or absence of arterial stiffness. Age, waist circumference, body mass index, and A_1c, were introduced as independent variables into a multiple regression analysis. The stepwise model (R²: 0.113, p = 0.016) retained only A_1c levels (β: ‒ 0.333, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -3.10 to -0.33) as significant predictor of the percentage of nighttime decrease in mean BP.

CONCLUSIONS

A non-dipping pattern in BP is very common in patients with type 1 diabetes presenting with subclinical CAN and is associated with a poorer metabolic control. On the contrary, coexistence of arterial stiffness is not associated with abnormalities in circadian BP regulation.

Insulin-induced vasoconstriction is prevalent in muscle microvasculature of otherwise healthy persons with type 1 diabetes

Insulin's microvascular actions and their relationship to insulin's metabolic actions have not been well studied in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We compared the metabolic and selected micro- and macrovascular responses to insulin by healthy adult control (n = 16) and subjects with T1DM (n = 15) without clinical microvascular disease. We measured insulin's effect on 1) skeletal muscle microvascular perfusion using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU), 2) arterial stiffness using carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (cfPWV) and radial artery pulse wave analysis (PWA), and 3) metabolic insulin sensitivity by the glucose infusion rate (GIR) during a 2-h, 1 mU/min/kg euglycemic-insulin clamp. Subjects with T1DM were metabolically insulin resistant (GIR = 5.2 ± 0.7 vs. 6.6 ± 0.6 mg/min/kg, P < 0.001). Insulin increased muscle microvascular blood volume and flow in control (P < 0.001, for each) but not in subjects with T1DM. Metabolic insulin sensitivity correlated with increases of muscle microvascular perfused volume (P < 0.05). Baseline measures of vascular stiffness did not differ between groups. However, during hyperinsulinemia, cfPWV was greater (P < 0.02) in the T1DM group and the backward pulse wave pressure declined with insulin only in controls (P < 0.03), both indices indicating that insulin-induced vascular relaxation in controls only. Subjects with T1DM have muscle microvascular insulin resistance that may precede clinical microvascular disease.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Using contrast ultrasound and measures of vascular stiffness, we compared vascular and metabolic responses to insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes with age-matched controls. The patients with type 1 diabetes demonstrated both vascular and metabolic insulin resistance with more than half of the patients with diabetes having a paradoxical vasoconstrictive vascular response to insulin.

Risk factors for pre-clinical atherosclerosis in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

AIMS

To assess whether, besides "traditional" risk factors, overall oxidative stress, oxidized lipoproteins, and glycemic variability are associated with early macro-vascular damage in type 1 diabetes (T1D).

METHODS

In 267 children/adolescents with T1D (130 girls, age 9.1-23.0 years) we evaluated: derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites [d-ROMs], serum total antioxidant capacity [TAC] and oxidized LDL-cholesterol [oxLDL]; markers of early vascular damage (Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 [Lp-PLA2], z-score of carotid intima-media thickness [z-cIMT] and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity [z-PWV]); CGM metrics of four weeks preceding the visit, central systolic/diastolic blood pressures (cSBP/cDBP), and HbA1c, z-score of BP (z-SBP/z-DBP) and circulating lipids longitudinally collected since T1D onset.. Three general linear models were built with z-cIMT, z-PWV adjusted for current cDBP, and Lp-PLA2 as independent variables.

RESULTS

The z-cIMT was associated with male gender (B = 0.491, η² = 0.029, p = 0.005), cSBP (B = 0.023, η² = 0.026, p = 0.008) and oxLDL (B = 0.022, η² = 0.022, p = 0.014). The z-PWV was associated with diabetes duration (B = 0.054, η² = 0.024, p = 0.016), daily insulin dose (B = 0.52, η² = 0.018, p = 0.045), longitudinal z-SBP (B = 0.18, η² = 0.018, p = 0.045) and dROMs (B = 0.003, η² = 0.037, p = 0.004). Lp-PLA2 was associated with age (B = 0.221, η² = 0.079, p = 3*10^-6), oxLDL (B = 0.081, η² = 0.050, p = 2*10^-4), longitudinal LDL-cholesterol (B = 0.031, η² = 0.043, p = 0.001) and male gender (B = -1.62, η² = 0.10, p = 1.3*10⁷).

CONCLUSIONS

Oxidative stress, male gender, insulin dose, diabetes duration and longitudinal lipids and blood pressure, contributed to the variance of early vascular damage in young patients with T1D.

Bromocriptine Improves Central Aortic Stiffness in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Arterial Health Results From the BCQR-T1D Study

BACKGROUND

The presence of vascular dysfunction is a well-recognized feature in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D), accentuating their lifetime risk of cardiovascular events. Therapeutic strategies to mitigate vascular dysfunction are a high clinical priority. In the bromocriptine quick release T1D study (BCQR-T1D), we tested the hypothesis that BCQR would improve vascular health in youth with T1D.

METHODS

BCQR-T1D was a placebo-controlled, random-order, double-blinded, cross-over study investigating the cardiovascular and metabolic impact of BCQR in T1D. Adolescents in the BCQR-T1D study were randomized 1:1 to phase-1: 4 weeks of BCQR or placebo after which blood pressure and central aortic stiffness measurements by pulse wave velocity, relative area change, and distensibility from phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging were performed. Following a 4-week washout period, phase 2 was performed in identical fashion with the alternate treatment.

RESULTS

Thirty-four adolescents (mean age 15.9±2.6 years, hemoglobin A1c 8.6±1.1%, body mass index percentile 71.4±26.1, median T1D duration 5.8 years) with T1D were enrolled and had magnetic resonance imaging data available. Compared with placebo, BCQR therapy decreased systolic (∆=-5 mmHg [95% CI, -3 to -7]; P<0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (∆=-2 mmHg [95% CI, -4 to 0]; P=0.039). BCQR reduced ascending aortic pulse wave velocity (∆=-0.4 m/s; P=0.018) and increased relative area change (∆=-2.6%, P=0.083) and distensibility (∆=0.08%/mmHg; P=0.017). In the thoraco-abdominal aorta, BCQR decreased pulse wave velocity (∆=-0.2 m/s; P=0.007) and increased distensibility (∆=0.05 %/mmHg; P=0.013).

CONCLUSIONS

BCQR improved blood pressure and central and peripheral aortic stiffness and pressure hemodynamics in adolescents with T1D over 4 weeks versus placebo. BCQR may improve aortic stiffness in youth with T1D, supporting future longer-term studies.

14. Children and Adolescents: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2023

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) "Standards of Care in Diabetes" includes the ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, a multidisciplinary expert committee, are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA's clinical practice recommendations and a full list of Professional Practice Committee members, please refer to Introduction and Methodology. Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional.diabetes.org/SOC.

Deciphering the Role of miR-200c-3p in Type 1 Diabetes (Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease) and Its Correlation with Inflammation and Vascular Health

Uncomplicated type 1 diabetes (T1DM) displays all features of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) as is associated with inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and low endothelial progenitor cells. MiR-200c-3p has been shown in animal tissues to be pro-atherogenic. We aimed to explore the role of miR-200c-3p in T1DM, a model of subclinical CVD. 19 samples from T1DM patients and 20 from matched controls (HC) were analyzed. MiR-200c in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results were compared with the following indices of vascular health: circulating endothelial progenitor cells, (CD45dimCD34+VEGFR-2+ or CD45dimCD34+CD133+) and proangiogenic cells (PACs). MiR-200c-3p was significantly downregulated in PBMCs but not in plasma in T1DM. There was a significant negative correlation between the expression of miR-200c-3p and HbA1c, interleukin-7 (IL-7), vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and a positive correlation with CD45dimCD34+VEGFR-2+, CD45dimCD34+CD133+ and PACs. Receiver operating curve analyses showed miR-200c-3p as a biomarker for T1DM with significant downregulation of miR-200c-3p, possibly defining subclinical CVD at HbA1c > 44.8 mmol/mol (6.2%). In conclusion, downregulated miR-200c-3p in T1DM correlated with diabetic control, VEGF signaling, inflammation, vascular health and targeting VEGF signaling, and may define subclinical CVD. Further prospective studies are necessary to validate our findings in a larger group of patients.

Markers of subclinical vascular damage in young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus: the role of central blood pressure

INTRODUCTION

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is a chronic disease leading to cardiovascular complications that can be diagnosed early as subclinical vascular damage. To prevent such damage, it is important to increase knowledge of the effects of the different cardiovascular risk factors in patients with T1D. The aim of our study was to assess possible associations between markers of subclinical arterial damage and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, with a special focus on peripheral blood pressure and central blood pressure (cBP), in a sample of young adults with T1D.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included 172 T1D patients (mean age 24.7 ± 8.7 years, duration of T1D 13.5 ± 9.6 years). Pulse wave velocity (PWV), pulse wave analysis and cBP were assessed by tonometry (SphygmoCor Xcel). Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid distensibility coefficient (cDC) were assessed by high-resolution echo-Doppler analysis and further examined with dedicated hardware.

RESULTS

Seventeen patients (10.1%) were classified as hypertensive by office peripheral blood pressure, and 48 patients (27.9%) were classified as hypertensive by cBP. One hundred sixteen patients (68.8%) had cDC under the range of normality, one patient had a PWV (0.6%) above 10 m/s, and no patients had a cIMT above 0.9 mm. In multivariable analysis, central SBP, but not metabolic parameters, remained associated with all the markers of subclinical arterial damage [cIMT ( β  = 0.288 ± 0.001; P  < 0.001), PWV ( β  = 0.374 ± 0.007; P  < 0.001), cDC ( β  = -0.149 ± 0.055; P  = 0.029)].

CONCLUSION

The independent association between cBP and markers of subclinical vascular damage underlines the importance of haemodynamic factors in the development of early signs of macrovascular disease in T1D patients. Further studies are warranted to better define the role of cBP to stratify cardiovascular risk, to individualize the need for follow-up and to tailor preventive strategies in T1D patients.

Bromocriptine quick-release as adjunct therapy in youth and adults with type 1 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study

AIM

To evaluate the potential for glycaemic, renal and vascular benefits of bromocriptine quick release (BCQR) in adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty adolescents and 40 adults with type 1 diabetes aged 12-60 years old were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, random order crossover study of 4 weeks of treatment in the morning with BCQR (titrated weekly from 0.8 mg to 1.6 mg to 3.2 mg, minimum dose 1.6 mg). Study assessments after each phase included blood pressure (BP), lipids, peripheral arterial stiffness and autonomic function, mixed meal tolerance test, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, estimated insulin sensitivity, insulin dose and indirect calorimetry.

RESULTS

Adolescents displayed baseline hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction and increased renal filtration compared with adults. In both age groups, continuous glucose monitoring measures, estimated insulin sensitivity and insulin dose did not differ with BCQR treatment. In adolescents, BCQR decreased systolic BP, diastolic BP and triangular index and increased serum creatinine. In adults, systolic BP, mean arterial pressure, systemic vascular resistance, and mixed meal tolerance test glucose and glucagon-like peptide 1 areas under the curve were lower, and the orthostatic drop in systolic BP was greater with BCQR.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction and renal hyperfiltration in adolescents argues for increased attention during this high-risk age period. Although BCQR had little impact on glycaemia or insulin sensitivity, initial vascular and renal responses suggest potential benefits of BCQR in adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes requiring further study.

Arterial stiffness indices in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis

AIMS

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Our aim was to review the evidence and conduct a meta-analysis assessing measures of arterial stiffness by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) in children and adolescents with T1DM compared to healthy controls.

METHODS

PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies published up to 10 May 2021.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies were finally included in the meta-analysis. The T1DM group had significantly higher carotid to femoral PWV levels than that of the control group (mean difference [d]: 0.53 CI: 0.35-0.71, P < 0.00001) but with a fair heterogeneity (I 2:73%). By omitting one study with marked heterogeneity, mean difference in cfPWV remained significantly increased in the T1DM group compared to the control group (mean difference [d]: 0.37 CI: 0.27-0.48, P < 0.00001) but with improved heterogeneity (I2 = 26%). Regarding Aix, the T1DM group had a significantly higher AI@75 index than that of the control group (mean difference [d]: 0.28 CI: 0.17-0.39, P < 0.00001) and with no heterogeneity (I 2 = 8%).

CONCLUSIONS

Youths with T1DM show increased arterial stiffness, either as increased carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity or increased augmentation index, early in their course of life compared to healthy controls.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021253236.

The effect of a high fat meal on heart rate variability and arterial stiffness in adolescents with or without type 1 diabetes

AIM

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with increased arterial stiffness and cardiac autonomic neuropathy. We tested whether those variables are acutely affected by a high fat meal (HFM).

METHODS

Responses to a HFM were measured in adolescents with T1D (N = 14) or without T1D (Control, N = 21). Heart rate variability (HRV), arterial stiffness, blood pressure (BP), and energy expenditure (EE) were measured before (baseline) and four times over 180 min postprandially.

RESULTS

T1D had higher blood glucose and insulin, but the suppression of fatty acids (~40%) and rise in triglycerides (~60%) were similar between groups. T1D had 9% higher EE, but postprandial increase in EE was similar to Controls. T1D had ~7 to 24% lower baseline HRV but a similar postprandial decline of ~8 to 25% as Controls. Both groups had a similar 2 to 5% increase in BP after the meal. Rate pressure product increased postprandially in both groups and was higher in T1D. Pulsewave velocity and augmentation index did not differ between groups or change postprandially.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents with T1D have evidence of cardiac autonomic dysfunction and increased EE, but those variables, along with arterial stiffness, are not acutely made worse by a HFM.

Nitric oxide-dependent micro- and macrovascular dysfunction occurs early in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are both reported in children with type 1 diabetes (DM1) and may predict future cardiovascular events. In health, nitric oxide (NO) relaxes arteries and increases microvascular perfusion. The relationships between NO-dependent macro- and microvascular functional responses and arterial stiffness have not been studied in adolescents with DM1. Here, we assessed macro- and microvascular function in DM1 adolescents and age-matched controls at baseline and during an oral glucose challenge (OGTT). DM1 adolescents (n = 16) and controls (n = 14) were studied before and during an OGTT. At baseline, we measured: 1) large artery stiffness using both aortic augmentation index (AI) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV); 2) brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and forearm endothelial function using postischemic flow velocity (PIFV); and 3) forearm muscle microvascular blood volume (MBV) using contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Following OGTT, AI, cfPWV, and MBV were reassessed at 60 min and MBV again at 120 min. Within individual and between-group, comparisons were made by paired and unpaired t tests or repeated measures ANOVA. Baseline FMD was lower (P = 0.02) in DM1. PWV at 0 and 60 min did not differ between groups. Baseline AI did not differ between groups but declined with OGTT only in controls (P = 0.02) and was lower than DM1 at 60 min (P < 0.03). Baseline MBV was comparable in DM1 and control groups, but declined in DM1 at 120 min (P = 0.01) and was lower than the control group (P < 0.03). There was an inverse correlation between plasma glucose and MBV at 120 min (r = -0.523, P < 0.01). No differences were noted between groups for V̇O2max (mL/min/kg), body fat (%), or body mass index (BMI). NO-dependent macro- and microvascular function, including FMD and AI, and microvascular perfusion, respectively, are impaired early in the course of DM1, precede increases of arterial stiffness, and may provide an early indicator of vascular risk.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to show that type 1 diabetes impairs multiple nitric oxide-dependent vascular functions.

Arterial Stiffness and Type 1 Diabetes: The Current State of Knowledge

The most common cause of mortality among people with type 1 diabetes is cardiovascular diseases. Arterial stiffness allows predicting cardiovascular complications, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality. There are different ways to measure arterial stiffness; the gold standard is pulse wave velocity. Arterial stiffness is increased in people with type 1 diabetes compared to healthy controls. It increases with age and duration of type 1 diabetes. Arterial stiffness among people with type 1 diabetes positively correlates with systolic blood pressure, obesity, glycated hemoglobin, waist circumference, and waist to hip ratio. It has a negative correlation with the estimated glomerular filtration rate, high-density lipoprotein, and the absence of carotid plaques. The increased arterial stiffness could result from insulin resistance, collagen increase due to inadequate enzymatic glycation, and endothelial and autonomic dysfunction. The insulin-induced decrease in arterial stiffness is impaired in type 1 diabetes. There are not enough proofs to use pharmacotherapy in the prevention of arterial stiffness, but some of the medicaments got promising results in single studies, for example, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, statins, and SGLT2 inhibitors. The main strategy of prevention of arterial stiffness progression remains glycemic control and a healthy lifestyle.

14. Children and Adolescents: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2022

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) "Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes" includes the ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, a multidisciplinary expert committee (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-SPPC), are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA's clinical practice recommendations, please refer to the Standards of Care Introduction (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-SINT). Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional.diabetes.org/SOC.

Vascular Stiffness in Aging and Disease

The goal of this review is to provide further understanding of increased vascular stiffness with aging, and how it contributes to the adverse effects of major human diseases. Differences in stiffness down the aortic tree are discussed, a topic requiring further research, because most prior work only examined one location in the aorta. It is also important to understand the divergent effects of increased aortic stiffness between males and females, principally due to the protective role of female sex hormones prior to menopause. Another goal is to review human and non-human primate data and contrast them with data in rodents. This is particularly important for understanding sex differences in vascular stiffness with aging as well as the changes in vascular stiffness before and after menopause in females, as this is controversial. This area of research necessitates studies in humans and non-human primates, since rodents do not go through menopause. The most important mechanism studied as a cause of age-related increases in vascular stiffness is an alteration in the vascular extracellular matrix resulting from an increase in collagen and decrease in elastin. However, there are other mechanisms mediating increased vascular stiffness, such as collagen and elastin disarray, calcium deposition, endothelial dysfunction, and the number of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Populations with increased longevity, who live in areas called “Blue Zones,” are also discussed as they provide additional insights into mechanisms that protect against age-related increases in vascular stiffness. Such increases in vascular stiffness are important in mediating the adverse effects of major cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension and diabetes, but require further research into their mechanisms and treatment.

Uncovering Cardiac Involvement in Childhood Diabetes: Is it Time to Move Toward Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Childhood Diabetes Management?

Context:

One of the most common endocrine disorders in children is diabetes which is the leading cause of premature cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

Aims:

This study is aimed to investigate the extend of cardiac involvement in diabetic children by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in comparison to two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography and routine laboratory data.

Settings and Design:

A cross-sectional study conducted on patients under 18 years of age who deal with type one diabetes mellitus for more than 5 years.

Subjects and Methods:

To compare the STE results, we included the STE data of 25 normal age-matched children. All patients underwent laboratory analysis for lipid profile, blood sugar, and 2D echocardiography plus STE.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Two-sample independent t-test, Chi-square test, logistic regression test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results:

From March 2018 to 2019, we included 53 patients, mean age 15.8 ± 0.39 years and 52.8% female, and 25 nondiabetic control in this study. STE revealed global longitudinal strain (LS) −18.4 versus − 24.2 for patient (44 valid cases) versus control group, respectively, with significant statistical difference. Diabetic patients had lower LS in all segments compared to the control group.

Conclusions:

STE has very high sensitivity to detect cardiac involvement far earlier than 2D echocardiography. None of the routine biomarkers or demographic features can predict cardiac involvement based on segmental abnormalities of STE. Active investigation to clear the remote impact of STE abnormalities and its practical role in childhood diabetes management is highly recommended.

CARDEA study protocol: investigating early markers of cardiovascular disease and their association with lifestyle habits, inflammation and oxidative stress in adolescence using a cross-sectional comparison of adolescents with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls

INTRODUCTION

Little is known regarding associations between potentially modifiable lifestyle habits and early markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D), hindering early prevention efforts. Specific objectives are: (1) compare established risk factors (dyslipidemia, hypertension) with novel early markers for CVD (cardiac phenotype, aortic distensibility, endothelial function) in adolescents with T1D and healthy age-matched and sex-matched controls; (2) examine associations between these novel early markers with: (i) lifestyle habits; (ii) adipokines and measures of inflammation; and (iii) markers of oxidative stress among adolescents with T1D and controls, and determine group differences in these associations; (3) explore, across both groups, associations between CVD markers and residential neighbourhood features.

METHODS AND ANALYSES

Using a cross-sectional design, we will compare 100 participants aged 14-18 years with T1D to 100 healthy controls. Measures include: anthropometrics; stage of sexual maturity (Tanner stages); physical activity (7-day accelerometry); sleep and sedentary behaviour (self-report and accelerometry); fitness (peak oxygen consumption); and dietary intake (three non-consecutive 24- hour dietary recalls). Repeated measures of blood pressure will be obtained. Lipid profiles will be determined after a 12- hour fast. Cardiac structure/function: non-contrast cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) images will evaluate volume, mass, systolic and diastolic function and myocardial fibrosis. Aortic distensibility will be determined by pulse wave velocity with elasticity and resistance studies at the central aorta. Endothelial function will be determined by flow-mediated dilation. Inflammatory markers include plasma leptin, adiponectin, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), type I and type II TNF-α soluble receptors and interleukin-6 concentrations. Measures of endogenous antioxidants include manganese superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione in blood. Neighbourhood features include built and social environment indicators and air quality.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study was approved by the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Ethics Board. Written informed assent and consent will be obtained from participants and their parents.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT04304729.

Impact of Obesity on Measures of Cardiovascular and Kidney Health in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes as Compared With Youth With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

Insulin resistance and obesity are independently associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and are known risk factors for cardiovascular and kidney diseases, the leading causes of death in T1D. We evaluated the effect of BMI on cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in youth with T1D versus control youth with normal weight or obesity and youth with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Pubertal youth (n = 284) aged 12-21 years underwent assessments of resting heart rate (RHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), leptin, hs-CRP, adiponectin, ratio of urine albumin to creatinine, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Participants with T1D underwent bicycle ergometry for VO₂peak, monitoring for peripheral brachial artery distensibility (BAD), endothelial function testing for reactive hyperemic index, and aortic MRI for central arterial stiffness or shear.

RESULTS

In adolescents with T1D, RHR, SBP, DBP, mean arterial pressure, leptin, hs-CRP, and hypertension prevalence were significantly higher, and BAD, descending aorta pulse wave velocity, and VO₂peak lower with an obese versus normal BMI. Although hypertension prevalence and RHR were highest in obese adolescents with T1D and adiponectin lowest in youth with T2D, other measures were similar between obese adolescents with T1D and those with T2D.

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity, now increasingly prevalent in people with T1D, correlates with a less favorable cardiovascular and kidney risk profile, nearly approximating the phenotype of youth with T2D. Focused lifestyle management in youth-onset T1D is critically needed to reduce cardiovascular risk.

Matrix metalloproteinase -2, -9 and arterial stiffness in children and adolescents: The role of chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and hypertension

Background and aims

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may contribute to the pathogenesis of arterial stiffness inducing extracellular matrix remodeling. We aimed to compare MMP-2 and -9 levels in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), type 1 diabetes (without chronic kidney disease) and healthy control and to investigate associations of MMPs levels with cardiovascular risk factors and markers of arterial stiffness.

Methods

The study population included 33 CKD, 18 type 1 diabetes patients, and 24 healthy controls. MMP-2, MMP-9, office blood pressure, pulse wave analysis, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) measurements were performed.

Results

MMP-2 levels were higher in the CKD compared to the diabetes and control groups (p < 0.05). MMP-9 levels did not differ among groups. In hypertensive individuals logMMP-2 independently associated with PWV z score (β = 0.744, 95%CI 0.105 to 2.921, p < 0.05) after adjustment for age, sex, GRF, and phosphate levels. Creatinine levels correlated positively with MMP-2 in the CKD (r = 0.39, p < 0.05) and negatively in the diabetes group (r = −0.72, p < 0.05). Cholesterol levels correlated with MMP-2 in the diabetes group (r = 0.70, p < 0.05). Phosphate levels correlated with MMP-2 level in the control group (r = 0.67, p < 0.05). In multivariate regression model adjusted for age and sex, including phosphate and GRF as covariates, only phosphate predicted logMMP-2 levels (β = 0.333, 95%CI 0.060 to 0.671, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

MMP-2 associated with arterial stiffness in the presence of hypertension, while the role of MMP-9 is less clear in children with CKD or type 1 diabetes. Whether up-regulation of MMPs could predict poor outcomes in young high-risk patient groups need to be confirmed by future studies.

13. Children and Adolescents: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2021

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) "Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes" includes the ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, a multidisciplinary expert committee (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-SPPC), are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA's clinical practice recommendations, please refer to the Standards of Care Introduction (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-SINT). Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional.diabetes.org/SOC.

Association between diet quality indices and arterial stiffness in youth with type 1 diabetes: SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Nutrition Ancillary Study

AIMS

We studied the association of three distinct diet quality indices and two measures of arterial stiffness in youth and young adults (YYA) aged 10 to 30 with T1D.

METHODS

Cross-sectional (n = 1421) and longitudinal (n = 520) analyses were conducted in T1D YYA participating in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. The diet quality indices included the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) index, the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015), and a modified Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (mKIDMED). Arterial stiffness was measured with pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) obtained using a SphygmoCor-Vx device and tonometer.

RESULTS

Average diet quality was moderate to poor, with mean scores of 41 (DASH, range 0-80), 55 (HEI-2015, range 0-100), 3.7 (mKIDMED, range - 3-12). None of the diet quality scores was associated with the central PWV or Aix, independent of demographic, clinical and lifestyle factors, body mass index and HbA1c. Longitudinal data yielded consistent findings with cross-sectional results.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that diet quality may not function as an independent risk factor for arterial stiffening in YYA with T1D. These findings do not diminish the importance of consuming a quality diet for the management of diabetes, as demonstrated in previous work.

Elevated high-density lipoprotein in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes is associated with endothelial dysfunction in the presence of systemic inflammation

AIMS

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) function may be altered in patients with chronic disease, transforming the particle from a beneficial vasoprotective molecule to a noxious pro-inflammatory equivalent. Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes often have elevated HDL, but its vasoprotective properties and relationship to endothelial function have not been assessed.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Seventy adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (age 10-17 years) and 30 age-matched healthy controls supplied urine samples for the measurement of early renal dysfunction (albumin:creatinine ratio; ACR), blood samples for the assessment of cardiovascular risk factors (lipid profiles, HDL functionality, glycaemic control, and inflammatory risk score), and had their conduit artery endothelial function tested using flow-mediated dilation (FMD). HDL-c levels (1.69 ± 0.41 vs. 1.44 ± 0.29mmol/L; P < 0.001), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (8.4 ± 1.2 vs. 5.4 ± 0.2%; P < 0.001) were increased in all patients compared with controls. However, increased inflammation and HDL dysfunction were evident only in patients who also had evidence of early renal dysfunction (mean ± standard deviation for high-ACR vs. low-ACR and healthy controls: inflammatory risk score 11.3 ± 2.5 vs. 9.5 ± 2.4 and 9.2 ± 2.4, P < 0.01; HDL-mediated nitric-oxide bioavailability 38.0 ± 8.9 vs. 33.3 ± 7.3 and 25.0 ± 7.7%, P < 0.001; HDL-mediated superoxide production 3.71 ± 3.57 vs. 2.11 ± 3.49 and 1.91 ± 2.47nmol O2 per 250 000 cells, P < 0.05). Endothelial function (FMD) was impaired only in those who had both a high inflammatory risk score and high levels of HDL-c (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Increased levels of HDL-c commonly observed in individuals with Type 1 diabetes may be detrimental to endothelial function when accompanied by renal dysfunction and chronic inflammation.

Cardiovascular disease in young People with Type 1 Diabetes: Search for Cardiovascular Biomarkers

Premature onset of cardiovascular disease is common in people with type 1 diabetes and is relatively understudied in youth. Several reports in adolescents and young adults with diabetes demonstrate evidence of arterial stiffness and cardiac dysfunction, yet critical gaps exist in our current understanding of the temporal progression of cardiac and vascular dysfunction in these youth, and mechanistic investigations with robust pathophysiologic assessment are lacking. This review attempts to summarize relevant cardiovascular studies concerning children, adolescents, and young adults with type 1 diabetes. We focus on imaging-based biomarkers routinely applied to youth and adults that are well-established in their ability to predict adjudicated cardiovascular outcomes, and their relevant physiologic interpretation. Particularly, we focus the attention to 1) cardiac ventricular strain imaging techniques which are known to be predictive of clinical outcomes in patients with heterogenous causes of heart failure, and 2) stiffness in large arteries, a well-established prognostic marker of cardiovascular events. We conclude that there remains an urgent need for sensitive and quantitative biomarkers to define the natural history of cardiac and vascular disease origination and progression in type 1 diabetes, and set the stage for interpreting interventional studies focused on preventing, reversing or slowing disease progression.

Update on Preventive Cardiology

Although progress had been made in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, the positive trend has reversed in recent years, and CVD remains the most common cause of mortality in US women and men. Youth represent the future of CVD prevention; emerging evidence suggests exposure to risk factors in children contributes to atherosclerosis and results in vascular changes and increased CVD events. The contributors to CVD include those commonly seen in adults. This article reviews hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and smoking. It discusses the prevalence of each disease, diagnosis, treatment, and cardiovascular complications.

Hyperglycemia does not Inhibit Insulin's Effects on Microvascular Perfusion in Healthy Humans: A Randomized Crossover Study

Diabetes mellitus accelerates vascular disease through multiple biochemical pathways driven by hyperglycemia, with insulin resistance and/or hyperinsulinemia also contributing. Persons with diabetes mellitus experience premature large vessel and microvascular disease when compared to normoglycemic controls. Currently there is a paucity of clinical data identifying how acutely the vasculature responds to hyperglycemia and whether other physiologic factors (e.g., vasoactive hormones) contribute. To our knowledge, no prior studies have examined the dynamic effects of acute hyperglycemia on insulin-mediated actions on both micro- and macrovascular function in the same subjects. In this randomized crossover trial, healthy young adults underwent two infusion protocols designed to compare the effects of insulin infusion during euglycemia and hyperglycemia on micro- and macrovascular function. Both euglycemic- and hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemia increased skeletal (but not cardiac) muscle microvascular blood volume (each p<0.02) and blood flow significantly (each p<0.04), and these increases did not differ between protocols. Hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemia trended towards increased carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (indicating increased aortic stiffness; p= 0.065 after Bonferroni adjustment), while euglycemic-hyperinsulinemia did not. There were no changes in post-ischemic flow velocity or brachial artery flow-mediated dilation during either protocol. Plasma endothelin-1 levels significantly decreased during both protocols (each p<0.02). In this study, acute hyperglycemia for 4 hours did not inhibit insulin's ability to increase skeletal muscle microvascular perfusion but did provoke a slight increase in aortic stiffness. Hyperglycemia also did not adversely affect myocardial microvascular perfusion or endothelial function or prevent the decline of endothelin-1 during insulin infusion.

The association of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with elevated arterial stiffness in adolescents and young adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study

AIM

Our aim was to explore the relationship of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) with subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in youth with T1D and T2D. We hypothesized the association of LDL-C with elevated arterial stiffness (AS) would be partially accounted by the co-occurrence of other CVD factors.

METHOD

We included 1376 youth with T1D and 157 with T2D from the SEARCH study. CVD risk factors including LDL-C, waist to height ratio (WHtR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), HbA1c, albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR), and insulin sensitivity (IS) score were measured at both visits. At follow up, elevated carotid-femoral AS was defined as levels above 6.8 m/s. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the odds of elevated AS as a function of the average CVD risk factors.

RESULTS

At follow up, age was 18.0 ± 4.1 and 21.6 ± 3.5 years and duration of diabetes was 7.8 ± 1.9 and 7.7 ± 1.9 years in T1D and T2D, respectively. Elevated AS was found in 8.4% of T1D and 49.0% of T2D participants. Each SD increase in LDL-C was associated with 1.28 increased odds (95% CI 1.05-1.54, P = .013) of elevated AS in youth with T1D. The association was similar but not statistically significant in T2D. WHtR, IS, and MAP were associated with elevated AS in both groups. Adjustment for WHtR or IS attenuated to non-significance the relationship between LDL-C and AS in T1D.

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity and insulin resistance attenuate the association of high LDL-C with AS suggesting they partially account for the adverse effects of LDL-C on cardiovascular health in youth with T1D.

Motivational Interview to improve vascular health in Adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 Diabetes (MIAD): a randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

We studied if motivational interviewing (MI) added to standard educational care (SEC) improves vascular health in adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

47 adolescents with type 1 diabetes of at least 2 years duration and hemoglobin A1c >75 mmol/mol (>9.0%) on two visits were randomized to MI+SEC or SEC. We also compared vascular health parameters of patients with type 1 diabetes at trial baseline with a group of healthy historical controls matched for age and body size.

RESULTS

39 adolescents (20 MI+SEC) completed the vascular health study. At 12 months, parameter changes were not statistically significantly different between MI+SEC and SEC (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV): mean difference 0.052 m/s (95% CI -0.395 to 0.500, p=0.81); carotid-radial PWV (crPWV): 0.118 m/s (95% to 0.478 to 0.713, p=0.69), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT): 0.002 mm (95% CI -0.37 to 0.40, p=0.93), systolic blood pressure (BP) z-score: 0.495 (95% CI -0.099 to 1.09, p=0.10). At baseline, duration of type 1 diabetes was associated with radial IMT (r=0.430, p=0.007) and cfPWV (r=0.373, p=0.018), and carotid, femoral and brachial IMT were correlated with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) SD (r=0.440, p=0.017; r=0.377, p=0.048; r=0.387, p=0.038). There was an inverse association between CGM time-in-range (3.9-10.0 mmol/L) and crPWV (r=-0.476, p=0.022) changes. Systolic BP change was associated with body mass index change (r=0.374, p=0.019) and IMT change (r=0.461, p=0.016 for carotid IMT; r=0.498, p=0.010 for femoral IMT). PWVs were higher and common carotid compliance lower among patients with type 1 diabetes at baseline compared with healthy controls, but no other differences were found.

CONCLUSION

There was no effect of MI added to SEC on vascular health parameters. Although disease duration and glycemic control were associated with vascular health at baseline, there were only limited associations between glycemic control and vascular health parameter changes. Vascular health parameter changes were interrelated suggesting clustering of cardiovascular risk.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02637154.

Relationships between Dietary Patterns and Indices of Arterial Stiffness and Central Arterial Wave Reflection in 9-11-Year-Old Children

Arterial stiffness is an important marker of vascular damage and a strong predictor of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Given that pathophysiological processes leading to an increased arterial stiffness begin during childhood, the aim of this clustered observational study was to determine the relationship between modifiable factors including dietary patterns and indices of aortic arterial stiffness and wave reflection in 9–11-year-old children. Data collection was conducted between April and December 2015 in 17 primary schools in Dunedin, New Zealand. Dietary data were collected using a previously validated food frequency questionnaire and identified using principal component analysis method. Arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, PWV) and central arterial wave reflection (augmentation index, AIx) were measured using the SphygmoCor XCEL system (Atcor Medical, Sydney, Australia). Complete data for PWV and AIx analyses were available for 389 and 337 children, respectively. The mean age of children was 9.7 ± 0.7 years, 49.0% were girls and 76.0% were classified as “normal weight”. The two identified dietary patterns were “Snacks” and “Fruit and Vegetables”. Mean PWV and AIx were 5.8 ± 0.8 m/s and −2.1 ± 14.1%, respectively. There were no clinically meaningful relationships between the identified dietary pattern scores and either PWV or AIx in 9–11-year-old children.

A pilot study of the effects of a high-intensity aerobic exercise session on heart rate variability and arterial compliance in adolescents with or without type 1 diabetes

Arterial compliance and autonomic regulation are predictors of cardiovascular disease. In adults, both are altered chronically by type 1 diabetes (T1D) and acutely by exercise; however, the effects of T1D and exercise are less clear in adolescents. We measured short-term effects of a high-intensity aerobic interval exercise session on cardiovascular and metabolic variables in normal weight adolescents with T1D or without T1D (Control). Energy expenditure (EE), heart rate variability (HRV), arterial compliance, and blood pressure (BP) were measured before exercise (baseline) and three times over 105 minutes postexercise. The T1D and control groups had similar cardiorespiratory fitness and accelerometer-measured physical activity. The T1D group had higher EE and fat oxidation throughout the trial, but postexercise changes were similar between groups. HRV transiently declined following exercise in both groups, but the T1D group had lower HRV at baseline. Among the measures of arterial compliance, the augmentation index declined postexercise while carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and large artery elastic index remained unchanged. Central and brachial BP were unchanged following exercise until the final measurement, when a small increase occurred. However, arterial compliance and BP did not differ between groups. These results demonstrate that normal weight adolescents with T1D have impaired autonomic function and increased EE and fat oxidation compared to peers without diabetes who have similar levels of fitness and physical activity. However, acute cardiometabolic responses to exercise are normal in T1D with adequate glycemic control. Changes in arterial compliance and BP may take longer to emerge in relatively healthy adolescents with T1D.

Ambulatory blood pressure and carotid intima media thickness in children with type 1 diabetes

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Blood pressure abnormalities may play an important role in macrovascular damage in type 1 diabetes. Little is known about blood pressure abnormalities and macrovascular damage in children with type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

Children with type 1 diabetes (n = 57) for a short (3 months-2 years; n = 24) or long duration (≥5 years; n = 33) and a group of control children without diabetes (n = 29) completed 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), a subclinical indicator of atherosclerosis, was assessed by carotid ultrasound.

RESULTS

ABPM abnormalities were more prevalent (57% vs 24%, respectively), and daytime, nighttime and 24-h systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure indices were higher in children with type 1 diabetes compared to control children. The odds estimate of an ABPM abnormality was 6.68 (95% confidence interval: 1.95, 22.9; P = .003) in children with type 1 diabetes compared to controls after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI standardized for age and sex (zBMI). An interaction between ABPM and zBMI on cIMT was observed. In children with type 1 diabetes and ABPM abnormalities, every 1 SD increase in zBMI was associated with a 0.030 mm increase in cIMT (95% confidence interval: 0.002, 0.041; P = .031). This was not observed in control children with ABPM abnormalities or in children with normal ABPM, regardless of type 1 diabetes status.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with type 1 diabetes have a high prevalence of ABPM abnormalities independent of disease duration and this is related to early indicators of cardiovascular damage.

Cardiometabolic Health and Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression

OBJECTIVE

To identify, in children the normal rate of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) progression, and whether presence of cardiometabolic risk factors is associated with cfPWV.

STUDY DESIGN

Electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar) were searched from inception to May 2018, for all studies which reported cfPWV in children (<19 years of age). Random effects meta-regression quantified the association between time (years) and cfPWV, and a systematic review was performed to determine whether cardiometabolic risk factors are associated with cfPWV.

RESULTS

Data from 28 articles were eligible for inclusion, including 9 reference value (n = 13 100), 5 cardiovascular risk (n = 5257), 10 metabolic risk (n = 2999), and 8 obesity-focused (n = 8760) studies. Meta-regression findings (9 studies) showed that the increase in cfPWV per year (age) was 0.12 m/second (95% CI, 0.07-0.16 m/second) per year, and when stratified by sex the CIs overlapped. Systematic review findings showed that cardiometabolic risk factors were positively associated with cfPWV, including positive associations with blood pressure, impaired glucose metabolism, and metabolic syndrome. However, obesity was not consistently associated with cfPWV.

CONCLUSIONS

Arterial stiffness in children progresses with age and is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. Although further longitudinal studies are warranted, the presented reference data will be valuable to epidemiologists tracking children, and to scientists and clinicians prescribing therapies to mitigate risk in a population that is increasingly more vulnerable to cardiovascular disease.

13. Children and Adolescents: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2020

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) "Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes" includes the ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Members of the ADA Professional Practice Committee, a multidisciplinary expert committee (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc20-SPPC), are responsible for updating the Standards of Care annually, or more frequently as warranted. For a detailed description of ADA standards, statements, and reports, as well as the evidence-grading system for ADA's clinical practice recommendations, please refer to the Standards of Care Introduction (https://doi.org/10.2337/dc20-SINT). Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Care are invited to do so at professional.diabetes.org/SOC.

Elevated copeptin, arterial stiffness, and elevated albumin excretion in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

OBJECTIVE

We sought to evaluate copeptin concentrations in adolescents with and without type 1 diabetes (T1D) and examine the associations between copeptin and measures of arterial stiffness and kidney dysfunction.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This analysis included 169 adolescents with T1D (12-19 years of age, 59% girls, mean HbA1c 9.0 ± 1.5% and diabetes duration of 8.6 ± 2.9 years), in addition to 61 controls without T1D. Arterial stiffness including carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV), carotid-radial PWV (CR-PWV), augmentation index normalized to heart rate of 75 bpm (AIx@HR75), and brachial artery distensibility (BAD). Serum copeptin, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by serum creatinine and cystatin C were also assessed.

RESULTS

Compared to controls, adolescents with T1D had higher median (Q1-Q3) copeptin (7.5 [5.2-11.3] vs 6.4 [4.8-8.3] pmol/L, P = .01), mean ± SD eGFR (121 ± 23 vs 112 ± 16 mL/min/1.73m² , P = .002) and lower BAD (7.1 ± 1.3 vs 7.2 ± 1.2%, P = .02). Adolescents with T1D in the in high tertile copeptin group (>9.1 pmol/L) had higher AIx@HR75 (10.7 ± 1.2 vs 5 ± 1.2, P = .001), CR-PWV (5.30 ± 1.0 vs 5.18 ± 1.0 m/s, P = .04), and UACR (12 ± 1 vs 8 ± 1 mg/g, P = .025) compared to those in low tertile (<5.8 pmol/L) after adjusting for age, sex, and eGFR. Copeptin inversely associated with CF-PWV independent of age, sex, eGFR, SBP, and HbA1c in T1D adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrate that elevated copeptin was associated with worse arterial stiffness in adolescents with T1D. These findings suggest that copeptin could improve CVD risk stratification in adolescents with T1D.

Metformin Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Vascular Health in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and relates strongly to insulin resistance (IR). Lean and obese adolescents with T1DM have marked IR. Metformin improves surrogate markers of IR in T1DM, but its effect on directly measured IR and vascular health in youth with T1DM is unclear. We hypothesized that adolescents with T1DM have impaired vascular function and that metformin improves this IR and vascular dysfunction.

METHODS

Adolescents with T1DM and control participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the ascending (AA) and descending aorta to assess pulse wave velocity, relative area change, and maximal (WSS_MAX) and time-averaged (WSS_TA) wall shear stress. Participants with T1DM also underwent assessment of carotid intima-media thickness by ultrasound, brachial distensibility by DynaPulse, fat and lean mass by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, fasting laboratories after overnight glycemic control, and insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (glucose infusion rate/insulin). Adolescents with T1DM were randomized 1:1 to 3 months of 2000 mg metformin or placebo daily, after which baseline measures were repeated.

RESULTS

Forty-eight adolescents with T1DM who were 12 to 21 years of age (40% body mass index [BMI] ≥90th percentile; 56% female) and 24 nondiabetic control participants of similar age, BMI, and sex distribution were enrolled. Adolescents with T1DM demonstrated impaired aortic health compared with control participants, including elevated AA and descending aorta pulse wave velocity, reduced AA and descending aorta relative area change, and elevated AA and descending aorta WSS_MAX and WSS_TA. Adolescents with T1DM in the metformin versus placebo group had improved glucose infusion rate/insulin (12.2±3.2 [mg·kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL versus -2.4±3.6 [mg·kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL, P=0.005; 18.6±4.8 [mg·lean kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL versus -3.4±5.6 [mg·lean kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL, P=0.005) and reduced weight (-0.5±0.5 kg versus 1.6±0.5 kg; P=0.004), BMI (-0.2±0.15 kg/m² versus 0.4±0.15 kg/m²; P=0.005), and fat mass (-0.7±0.3 kg versus 0.6±0.4 kg; P=0.01). Glucose infusion rate/insulin also improved in normal-weight participants (11.8±4.4 [mg·kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL versus -4.5±4.4 [mg·kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL, P=0.02; 17.6±6.7 [mg·lean kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL versus -7.0±6.7 [mg·lean kg^-1·min^-1]/μIU/μL, P=0.02). The metformin group had reduced AA WSS_MAX (-0.3±0.4 dyne/cm² versus 1.5±0.5 dyne/cm²; P=0.03), AA pulse wave velocity (-1.1±1.20 m/s versus 4.1±1.6 m/s; P=0.04), and far-wall diastolic carotid intima-media thickness (-0.04±0.01 mm versus -0.00±0.01 mm; P=0.049) versus placebo.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents with T1DM demonstrate IR and impaired vascular health compared with control participants. Metformin improves IR, regardless of baseline BMI, and BMI, weight, fat mass, insulin dose, and aortic and carotid health in adolescents with T1DM. Metformin may hold promise as a cardioprotective intervention in T1DM.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01808690.

Cross-Sectional Study of Arterial Stiffness in Adolescents with Down Syndrome

OBJECTIVES

To test whether youth with Down syndrome have aortic stiffness indices, as measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), that differ from youth without Down syndrome and to compare reference-based age-adjusted (age-PWV-Z) and height-adjusted (Ht-PWV-Z) in youth with and without Down syndrome.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of PWV in 129 adolescents with Down syndrome and 97 youth of comparable age, sex, race/ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI). PWV, age-PWV-Z, and Ht-PWV-Z were compared. Regression models were developed to test for associations with PWV.

RESULTS

Youth with Down syndrome and controls were comparable in BMI-Z (1.4 [-1.5 to 2.8] vs 1.2 [-2.0 to 2.8], P = .57) but not Ht-Z (-2.3 [-4.7 to 0.8] vs 0.4 [-2.0 to 2.6], P < .0001). PWV (m/s, 5.0 [3.1-7.9] vs 5.0 [3.6-8.0], P = .5) and mean arterial pressure (MAP, mm Hg) (78 [61-102] vs 74 [64-97], P = .09) were not different between groups. In adjusted analyses confined to Down syndrome, PWV was associated only with BMI, but not age, black race, or MAP (R2 = 0.11). In contrast, BMI, age, black race, and MAP were all positively associated with and better explained PWV in controls (R2 = 0.50). PWV was not associated with height in youth with or without Down syndrome. Although age-PWV-Z was not different in Down syndrome (-0.36 [-2.93 to 3.49]) vs -0.15 [-2.32 to 3.22]), Ht-PWV-Z was greater in Down syndrome (0.32 [-2.28 to 4.07] vs -0.08 [-2.64 to 2.64], P = .002), and Ht-PWV-Z was greater than age-PWV-Z in Down syndrome (P < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The lack of relationship of PWV, an independent predictor of adult cardiovascular events, with its traditional determinants including MAP suggests Down syndrome-specific phenomena may alter such relationships in this population. In youth with Down syndrome, Ht-adjusted PWV may overestimate aortic stiffness.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01821300.

Hemoglobin A1c and retinal arteriolar narrowing in children with type 1 diabetes: the diagnostics of early atherosclerosis risk in kids study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Microvascular alterations play a key role in the development of diabetes complications. Retinal vessel analysis is a unique method to examine microvascular changes in brain-derived vessels.

METHODS

Sixty-seven pediatric and adolescent type 1 diabetes patients and 58 healthy control persons (mean age 12.4 ± 2.9 years) underwent non-mydriatic retinal photography of both eyes. Central retinal arteriolar and central retinal venular (CRVE) diameter equivalents as well as the arteriolar-to-venular ratio were calculated using a semiautomated software. All anthropometric and laboratory parameters were measured according to standardized procedures for children.

RESULTS

Retinal vessel diameter did not differ between type 1 diabetic children and healthy controls. However, there was an independent association of higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels with arteriolar narrowing. Arteriolar narrowing of 5.4 μm was observed with each percent increase in HbA1c. Longer duration of diabetes was associated with wider retinal arterioles. CRVE was not associated with diabetes duration or HbA1c.

CONCLUSIONS

Microvascular arteriolar alterations are already present in childhood and may indicate subclinical atherosclerosis and increased risk of diabetes complications later in life. Future research will have to investigate the potential use of retinal vessel diameters for treatment monitoring and guidance of therapy in children.

Metformin Improves Peripheral Insulin Sensitivity in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes

CONTEXT

Type 1 diabetes in adolescence is characterized by insulin deficiency and insulin resistance (IR), both thought to increase cardiovascular disease risk. We previously demonstrated that adolescents with type 1 diabetes have adipose, hepatic, and muscle IR, and that metformin lowers daily insulin dose, suggesting improved IR. However, whether metformin improves IR in muscle, hepatic, or adipose tissues in type 1 diabetes was unknown.

OBJECTIVE

Measure peripheral, hepatic, and adipose insulin sensitivity before and after metformin or placebo therapy in youth with obesity with type 1 diabetes.

DESIGN

Double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

SETTING

Multi-center at eight sites of the T1D Exchange Clinic Network.

PARTICIPANTS

A subset of 12- to 19-year-olds with type 1 diabetes (inclusion criteria: body mass index ≥85th percentile, HbA1c 7.5% to 9.9%, insulin dosing ≥0.8 U/kg/d) from a larger trial (NCT02045290) were enrolled.

INTERVENTION

Participants were randomized to 3 months of metformin (N = 19) or placebo (N = 18) and underwent a three-phase hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp with glucose and glycerol isotope tracers to assess tissue-specific IR before and after treatment.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Peripheral insulin sensitivity, endogenous glucose release, rate of lipolysis.

RESULTS

Between-group differences in change in insulin sensitivity favored metformin regarding whole-body IR [change in glucose infusion rate 1.3 (0.1, 2.4) mg/kg/min, P = 0.03] and peripheral IR [change in metabolic clearance rate 0.923 (-0.002, 1.867) dL/kg/min, P = 0.05]. Metformin did not impact insulin suppression of endogenous glucose release (P = 0.12). Adipose IR was not assessable with traditional methods in this highly IR population.

CONCLUSIONS

Metformin appears to improve whole-body and peripheral IR in youth who are overweight/obese with type 1 diabetes.

Body Mass Index Z-Score Modifies the Association between Added Sugar Intake and Arterial Stiffness in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes: The Search Nutrition Ancillary Study

The relationship between added sugar and arterial stiffness in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) has not been well-described. We used data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (SEARCH), an ongoing observational cohort study, to determine the association between added sugar and arterial stiffness in individuals diagnosed with T1D <20 years of age (n = 1539; mean diabetes duration of 7.9 ± 1.9 years). Added sugar intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire, and arterial stiffness measures included pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index. Separate multivariate linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between added sugar and arterial stiffness. Separate interaction terms were included to test for effect modification by body mass index (BMI) z-score and physical activity (PA). Overall, there was no association between added sugar and arterial stiffness (P > 0.05); however, the association between added sugar and arterial stiffness differed by BMI z-score (P for interaction = 0.003). For participants with lower BMI z-scores, added sugar intake was positively associated with PWV trunk measurements, whereas there was no association for those who had a higher BMI z-score. PA did not significantly modify the association between added sugar and arterial stiffness. Further research is needed to determine the longitudinal relationship and to confirm that obesity differentially affects this association.

Association of Cardiovascular Autonomic Dysfunction With Peripheral Arterial Stiffness in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

CONTEXT

Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) appears to contribute to peripheral arterial stiffness (AS) in type 1 diabetes. Whether CAN in patients with AS is associated with concomitant asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease (aPAD) remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the risk of CAN in patients with type 1 diabetes and AS and its potential association with atherosclerosis.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Type 1 diabetes clinic in an academic hospital.

PATIENTS

Two hundred sixty-four patients with type 1 diabetes.

INTERVENTION

AS was defined as an ankle-brachial index (ABI) >1.2, aPAD by the toe-brachial index and Doppler sonography, and CAN by blood pressure and heart rate responses to active standing and Ewing and Clarke tests.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Odds of having CAN among patients with AS. Odds for CAN were also calculated as a function of the presence of AS and concomitant aPAD.

RESULTS

The study population's mean age was 35 ± 11 years, with a duration of disease of 19 ± 10 years and mean hemoglobin A1c of 7.5% ± 1.3%. Seventy-three patients (28%) had peripheral AS, of whom 28 showed aPAD. The prevalence of CAN among patients with AS was 48% but it was only 23% in subjects with normal ABI (OR: 3.1 [1.7; 5.4]). Concomitant aPAD increased the OR for CAN (OR: 4.5 [2.0; 10.1]). After adjustments for aPAD and relevant cardiovascular risk factors, AS remained associated with parasympathetic dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS

In type 1 diabetes, both peripheral AS and atherosclerosis were associated with CAN. A simple method, such as the ABI, may identify a subset of patients with undiagnosed dysautonomia.

Burden of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Over Time and Arterial Stiffness in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study

Background The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children is increasing, resulting in higher burden of cardiovascular diseases due to diabetes mellitus-related vascular dysfunction. Methods and Results We examined cardiovascular risk factors ( CVRF s) and arterial parameters in 1809 youth with T1DM. Demographics, anthropometrics, blood pressure, and laboratory data were collected at T1DM onset and 5 years later. Pulse wave velocity and augmentation index were collected with tonometry. ANOVA or chi-square tests were used to test for differences in measures of arterial parameters by CVRF . Area under the curve of CVRF s was entered in general linear models to explore determinants of accelerate vascular aging. Participants at the time of arterial measurement were 17.6±4.5 years old, 50% female, 76% non-Hispanic white, and duration of T1DM was 7.8±1.9 years. Glycemic control was poor (glycated hemoglobin, 9.1±1.8%). All arterial parameters were higher in participants with glycated hemoglobin ≥9% and pulse wave velocity was higher with lower insulin sensitivity or longer duration of diabetes mellitus. Differences in arterial parameters were found by sex, age, and presence of obesity, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. In multivariable models, higher glycated hemoglobin, lower insulin sensitivity, body mass index, blood pressure, and lipid areas under the curve were associated with accelerated vascular aging. Conclusions In young people with T1DM, persistent poor glycemic control and higher levels of traditional CVRF s are independently associated with arterial aging. Improving glycemic control and interventions to lower CVRF s may prevent future cardiovascular events in young individuals with T1DM.

Subclinical vascular disease in patients with diabetes is associated with insulin resistance

Patients with diabetes experience increased cardiovascular risk that is not fully explained by deficient glycemic control or traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and hypercholesterolemia. Asymptomatic patients with diabetes show structural and functional vascular damage that includes impaired vasodilation, arterial stiffness, increased intima-media thickness and calcification of the arterial wall. Subclinical vascular injury associated with diabetes predicts subsequent manifestations of cardiovascular disease, such as ischemic heart disease, peripheral artery disease and stroke. Noninvasive detection of subclinical vascular disease is commonly used to estimate cardiovascular risk associated to diabetes. Longitudinal studies in normotensive subjects show that arterial stiffness at baseline is associated with a greater risk for future hypertension independently of established risk factors. In patients with type 2 diabetes, vascular disease begins to develop during the latent phase of insulin resistance, long before the clinical diagnosis of diabetes. In contrast, patients with type 1 diabetes do not manifest vascular injury when they are first diagnosed due to insulin deficiency, as they lack the preceding period of insulin resistance. These findings suggest that insulin resistance plays an important role in the development of early vascular disease associated with diabetes. Cross-sectional and prospective studies confirm that insulin resistance is associated with subclinical vascular injury in patients with diabetes, independently of standard cardiovascular risk factors. Asymptomatic vascular disease associated with diabetes begins to occur early in life having been documented in children and adolescents. Insulin resistance should be considered a therapeutic target in order to prevent the vascular complications associated with diabetes.

Changes in aortic pulse wave components, pulse pressure amplification, and hemodynamic parameters of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) presents important risk factors for cardiovascular events.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the components of the aortic pulse wave (APW) and the hemodynamic parameters among children and adolescents with DM1 and healthy individuals.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study, with 36 children and adolescents diagnosed with DM1 (11.9 ± 3.2 years) matched by sex and age with the control group (n = 36, 12.4 ± 2.9 years). The components of the APW and the hemodynamic parameters were evaluated non-invasively, using Mobil-O-Graph.

RESULTS

On the week of the evaluation, DM1 patients presented glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c]) of 9.48 ± 2.22% and fasting glycemia of 222.58 ± 93.22 mg/dL. Augmentation index (AIx@75), reflection coefficient, and augmentation pressure (AP) were significantly higher in the DM1 group (29.0 ± 9.7%, 63.0 ± 7.9, and 7.8 ± 2.7 mm Hg, respectively) compared with the control group (20.6 ± 7.9%, 53.4 ± 9.1 and 4.9 ± 2.1 mm Hg, respectively). The systolic volume (52.6 ± 11.9 and 60 ± 12.4 mL) and the cardiac output (4.3 ± 0.5 and 4.6 ± 0.5 L/min) decreased in the DM1 group in relation to the control group. The pulse pressure amplification (PPA) was significantly lower in the DM1 group (1.4 ± 0.15) compared with the control group (1.6 ± 0.17). PPA correlated negatively with total vascular resistance (TVR), AP and reflection coefficient, and positively with cardiac index in both groups. In the DMI group, the AIx@75 correlated negatively with age, height, systolic volume, and PPA, and correlated positively with the TVR and reflection coefficient.

CONCLUSIONS

These results confirm the presence of arterial stiffness in this population and extend the knowledge, showing, for the first time, the reduction of PPA in the DM1 group.

Insulin resistance is a cardiovascular risk factor in humans

Diabetes is a common metabolic disorder associated to elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that is not explained by hyperglycemia or traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking or hypercholesterolemia. Intensive glycemic control with insulin that achieves near-normal glycemia does not reduce significantly macrovascular complications compared with conventional glycemic control. Cardiovascular disease continues to develop in patients with diabetes despite adequate glycemic control. In contrast, intensive control with metformin (leading to insulin resistance improvement) reduces diabetes complications, including cardiovascular events, suggesting that enhancement of insulin sensitivity rather than plasma glucose level has a major role improving diabetes outcomes. Accordingly, insulin resistance estimated by glucose tolerance tests is better predictor of future cardiovascular events than fasting glucose level in nondiabetic individuals. Insulin resistance precedes for decades the clinical onset of type 2 diabetes and deteriorates metabolic control of type 1 diabetes. Numerous investigations including cross-sectional and prospective studies, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews provide compelling evidence that insulin resistance by itself is a cardiovascular risk factor in a variety of population groups, including the general population and patients with diabetes. Several estimations of insulin resistance have been consistently associated with elevated rate of cardiovascular events independently of other cardiovascular risk factors and diabetes status. The clinical expression of insulin resistance (the metabolic syndrome or any of its components including obesity, hyperinsulinemia, hypertension, and dyslipemia) has been related to cardiovascular disease as well. An estimation conducted by the Archimedes model confirms that insulin resistance is the most important single cause of coronary artery disease.

Arterial stiffness as a measure of cardiovascular risk in obese adolescents and adolescents with diabetes type 1

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the end result of vascular aging and atherosclerosis, having its origins in childhood. The aim of our study was to compare arterial stiffness (AS) and intima-media thickness (IMT) as markers of an early vascular damage between obese adolescents, adolescents with diabetes type 1 (T1D) and lean control subjects. Methods We analyzed AS and IMT in 68 obese adolescents (13.27±2.31 years), 42 adolescents with T1D (14.95±2.35 years) lasting over 5 years and 38 controls (15.02±1.94 years). AS (measured by pulse wave velocity [PWV], arterial compliance [AC] and β-stiffness) and IMT were assessed using an e-tracking ultrasound method. Results A significant difference between the groups was found for AC (p=0.022) and PWV (p=0.010), with the lowest compliance and higher velocities in T1D patients. When corrected for age, the difference in AC among the groups did not reach a statistical difference (p=0.059). Correlation analysis in the obese adolescents showed lower AC in females (p=0.041), with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p=0.032). In T1D adolescents, disease duration was the strongest determinant of AS (AC p=0.028, β p=0.029 and PWV p=0.003), followed by body mass index (BMI; PWV p=0.008; β p=0.033), SBP (AC p<0.001; PWV p=0.023), diastolic BP (AC p=0.049; PWV p=0.048) and HbA1c (PWV p=0.048). No significant correlations were found for AS measures or IMT with sex, age, BMI, Tanner stage or BP levels in controls. Conclusions Early vascular damage is more pronounced in T1D adolescents than in obese or lean adolescents, which may emphasize the impact of hyperglycemia as a major threat for cardiovascular health.

Inflammation, adiposity, and progression of arterial stiffness in adolescents with type 1 diabetes: The SEARCH CVD Study

AIMS

We examined the association between inflammation and progression of arterial stiffness in a population of youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

METHODS

A total of 287 youth with T1D (median age 13 years) from SEARCH CVD, an ancillary study to the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth, were included. Markers of inflammation (CRP, IL-6, fibrinogen, leptin, and adiponectin) and measures of pulse wave velocity (PWV) of the arm (PWV-R), trunk (PWV-T), and lower extremity (PWV-LE) were measured at baseline. Measures of PWV were repeated approximately five years later.

RESULTS

PWV-R (0.50 m/s), PWV-T (0.65 m/s), and PWV-LE (1.0 m/s) significantly increased over the follow-up (p < 0.001 for each). A significant interaction was found between waist circumference and fibrinogen (p = 0.036) on the progression of PWV-T, suggesting that fibrinogen is more strongly associated with PWV progression in lean participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Improved understanding of adiposity, inflammation, and functional changes in the vascular system in patients with T1D is crucial.