title: Arterial stiffness is increased in patients with type 1 diabetes without cardiovascular disease: a potential role of low-grade inflammation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between arterial stiffness and low-grade inflammation in subjects with type 1 diabetes without clinical cardiovascular disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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 (R(2) = 0.543). In women, these variables were age, BMI, mean arterial pressure, and type 1 diabetes (R(2) = 0.550).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Arterial stiffness assessed as 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diabetes, Hospital of Sabadell, Corporació Sanitària i Universitària Parc Taulí, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Llauradó
authors.forename: Victòria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ceperuelo-Mallafré
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vilardell
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Simó
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Freixenet
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vendrell
authors.forename: José Miguel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: González-Clemente
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein