The Potential Effect of Some Newer Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis on Aortic Distensibility in Subjects With and Without Type 2 Diabetes
- Athanasia Papazafiropoulou, MD1,
- Nicholas Tentolouris, MD1,
- Ioannis Moyssakis, MD2,
- Despoina Perrea, PHD1 and
- Nicholas Katsilambros, MD, FACP1
- 11st Department of Propaedeutic Medicine, Laiko Hospital, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece
- 2Department of Cardiology, Laiko Hospital, Athens, Greece
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to N. Tentolouris, MD, 33 Lakonias St., GR-115 23 Athens, Greece. E-mail: ntentol{at}med.uoa.gr
- ACR, albumin-to-creatinine ratio
- Hcy, homocysteine
- hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein
- WBC, white blood cell
The classical cardiovascular risk factors explain only a part of the increased macrovascular disease in subjects with type 2 diabetes (1). Reduction of the elastic properties of the aorta is an early marker of atherosclerosis, and it is diagnosed early in the course of type 2 diabetes (2). The detrimental effects of the classical risk factors on aortic distensibility are well known. However, the potential effect of some newer markers that have been proposed as risk factors for atherosclerosis, including increased plasma homocysteine (Hcy), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibrinogen, and uric acid levels, increased white blood cell (WBC) count, and low plasma adiponectin levels on aortic distensibility, has not been studied so far. The present cross-sectional study deals with the effect of the classical and newer cardiovascular risk factors on aortic distensibility in subjects with and without type 2 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We studied 100 subjects (49 male and 51 female, mean age 59.4 ± 1.0 years, duration of diabetes 9.8 ± 7.1 years) with type 2 diabetes consecutively attending the outpatient diabetes clinic of our hospital. In addition, 100 subjects (49 male and 51 female, aged 59.2 ± 1.0 years) without diabetes who had attended the hospital for minor problems were also recruited. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed according to the American Diabetes Association criteria (3). Subjects with clinically apparent macrovascular disease and renal impairment were excluded.
Blood was collected after an overnight fast of at least 12 h. Plasma glucose, lipids, HbA1c (A1C), creatinine, …
