title: Increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) levels in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM): A meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To derive a more precise estimation of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) levels in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) by meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed and Embase databases were searched to identify all available studies comparing CIMT levels between T1DM group and control group. Meta-analysis was performed to compare the difference of overall mean CIMT levels between the two groups. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plot, Begg' test and Egger' test. Meta-regression analysis was conducted to investigate the influential factors on CIMT difference. The meta-analysis was conducted by STATA 12.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1840 articles were obtained after searching databases; 47 studies were finally included in the meta-analysis. Significant heterogeneity was observed among these studies (Q = 768.75, P < 0.001, I(2) = 94.0%). Compared with the control group, the T1DM group had significantly higher CIMT levels (standardized mean difference: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.75-1.28; P < 0.001). A likely source of heterogeneity was Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) scores and sample size ratio of patents and controls. The funnel plot did not show a skewed or asymmetrical shape, and the result of Begg' test and Egger' test was P = 0.178 and P = 0.145 respectively. Accordingly, it could be assumed that publication bias was not present.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  T1DM patients have significantly increased CIMT levels compared to control subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China; Faculty of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China; Faculty of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yuan-Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Miao
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Sen-Miao
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Rui-Xue
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, China. Electronic address: panhaifeng1982@sina.com.
authors.forename: Hai-Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015415:Biomarkers; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular disease; Carotid intima–media thickness; Meta-analysis; Surrogate marker; Type 1 diabetes mellitus