title: Cardiac autonomic function correlates with arterial stiffness in the early stage of type 1 diabetes.
abstract: Arterial stiffness is increased in type 1 diabetes (T1D), before any clinical complications of the disease are evident. The aim of the present paper was to investigate the association between cardiac autonomic function and arterial stiffness in a cohort of young T1D patients, without history of hypertension and any evidence of macrovascular and/or renal disease. Large artery stiffness was assessed by measurement of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Cardiac autonomic function was assessed by the cardiovascular tests proposed by Ewing and Clarke. Patients with a high cardiac autonomic neuropathy score (≥4) had significantly higher PWV than those with a low score (0-1). A negative, heart rate-independent, correlation between PWV and heart rate variation during respiration was observed (r = -0.533,  P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, E/I index was the strongest correlate of PWV (β-coefficient = -0.326, P = 0.002). Cardiac parasympathetic function is a strong predictor of large arterial stiffness, in young T1D patients free of macrovascular and renal complications.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes Center, Athens University Medical School and General Hospital of Athens Laiko, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liatis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alexiadou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsiakou
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Makrilakis
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katsilambros
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tentolouris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014655:Vascular Resistance