Carotid artery intima-media thickness in pediatric type 1 diabetic patients

Objective: To compare the carotid artery intima-media thickness in pediatric type 1 diabetic patients with that in healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. Methods: Fifty diabetic patients and forty-five control subjects were enrolled into this observational, cross-sectional, controlled study. Carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT), flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid stiffness index were measured by using a carotid Doppler and real-time ultrasound. Student's t, chi-square and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for the statistical analysis. Results: There were no significant differences in the groups for age, sex, height, weight, BMI and waist circumference (mean age 12.10 +/- 2.02 vs. 11.49 +/- 1.90 years, weight 41.14 +/- 11.28 vs. 40.88 +/- 11.68 kg, height 149.78 +/- 20.3 vs. 145.62 +/- 20.14 cm, BMI 18.49 +/- 2.64 vs. 18.26 +/- 2.59 kg/m(2), waist circumference 69.72 +/- 8.6 vs. 66.05 +/- 7.47 cm, respectively). A significantly higher cIMT was found in the patients with type 1 diabetes (0.49 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.44 +/- 0.03 mm; p < 0.001). A higher carotid stiffness index was found in the diabetic group when compared with control group (3.11 +/- 0.46 vs. 2.6 +/- 0.29 mm; p < 0.001). Carotid IMT was not affected by mean HbA1c level and median HbA1c level (r = 0.112, p = 0.437 and r= 0.249, p = 0.082). Conclusion: Type 1 diabetes is associated with higher cIMT and carotid stiffness index in a pediatric population.