Source: Circulation  |  Posted 8 years ago

Insulin resistance and the use of alcohol are both associated with increased arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The increased arterial stiffness may be a mediating factor in the association between type 2 diabetes and the increased risk of atherothrombotic disease, according to investigators from Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre in Amsterdam and University Hospital in Groningen, the Netherlands.

The investigators conducted a cross-sectional, observational study including 81 patients with type 2 diabetes. Arterial stiffness was assessed by measuring local distensibility and compliance of the common carotid and femoral arteries and by carotido-femoral transit time.

The influences of a number of variables on arterial stiffness were assessed. Variables included diabetes duration, blood pressure, lipid levels, hyperglycaemia, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinaemia, cigarette smoking and alcohol use.

Multivariate analysis revealed that insulin-mediated glucose uptake was positively associated with the carotid artery compliance coefficient while alcohol use was negatively associated with the femoral artery compliance coefficient.

None of the other cardiovascular risk factors were associated with measures of arterial stiffness, except for mean arterial pressure, which was negatively associated with all of the outcome variables.