title: Assessment of arterial stiffness in type 1 diabetes using digital pulse contour analysis: Is it a reliable method?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the arterial stiffness in patients with type 1 diabetes compared with a control group and determine the associated potential risk factors for its occurrence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven subjects with type 1 diabetes and fifty-three healthy controls were submitted to clinical and laboratory evaluation. The peripheral waveform pressure was analyzed to assess arterial stiffness according to the reflection and stiffness index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Arterial stiffness did not differ between the controls and patients with type 1 diabetes. Pulse pressure showed no difference among both groups. In the group of patients with type 1 diabetes, the stiffness index was correlated with diabetes duration (r = 0.59, p < 0.001), body mass index (r = 0.27, p = 0.03), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.33, p = 0.001), triglycerides (r = 0.35, p = 0.007), and age (r = 0.46, p < 0.001). The reflection index was correlated with the systolic blood pressure (r = 0.29, p = 0.02), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.30, p = 0.02), and cardiac frequency (r = 0.48, p < 0.001). In the stepwise multivariate analysis, disease duration, diastolic blood pressure, and HDL cholesterol were the most important independent variables associated with arterial stiffness in patients with type 1 diabetes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that in the studied population, arterial stiffness showed no difference between patients with diabetes and controls; thus, the use of this method should not be indicated for routine clinical practice in type 1 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Unit, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Boulevard 28 de Setembro, n. 77-Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, 20551-030, Brazil. alessandramatheus79@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Alessandra S de M
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Matheus
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Unit, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Boulevard 28 de Setembro, n. 77-Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, 20551-030, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bárbara Pereira
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Investigation, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tibiriçá
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Unit, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Boulevard 28 de Setembro, n. 77-Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, 20551-030, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline Tiemi Kano
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Unit, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Boulevard 28 de Setembro, n. 77-Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, 20551-030, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marília B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D059289:Vascular Stiffness
keywords: Arterial stiffness; Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular disease; Microcirculation; Type 1 diabetes