Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in young people with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Associated factors

Objective. The aim of our study was to evaluate left ventricular function o f diastolic in young (< 40 years) asymptomatic patients with type 1 diabete s mellitus free of cardiovascular disease symptoms and to analyze the assoc iated factors to the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in these patients. Patients and methods. Thirty-five type-1 diabetic patients (mean age 27.8 /- 7.5 years) old and 54 healthy controls (mean age 26.1 +/- 4.1 years) wer e studied. Anamnesis, physical exploration, general analytical studies, mic roalbuminuric and Doppler-echocardiographic studies were performed. Results . The LVDD was present in 13 (37.1%) of the diabetic patients and none of the control patients. The ratio of peak early to peak late (atrial) filling ve locity was significantly decreased in diabetic compared with control subjec ts (1.1 +/- 0.3 versus 1.5 +/- 0.2; p < 0.01). The isovolumetric relaxation time was increased in diabetic patients compared with control subjects (10 4 +/- 11 versus 79 +/- 11; p < 0.01). Diabetics with LVDD were older aged, predominantly males, had worse glucemic control, more alteration of lipidic metaboliam and higher levels of microalbuminuria, than diabetics without L VDD. Conclusions. The LVDD is frequent in young diabetes free of cardiovascular disease symptoms. These studies suggest that because this patients were of older age, of the masculine sex with, poor glucemic control, altered lipidi c metabolisw, and microalbuminuria they might be a group that is asociated with LVDD which, in the absence of cardiovascular disease, might be an earl y preclinical alteration, potentially related to subsequent development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.