Carotid intima-media thickness in patients with Type 2 diabetes and hypercholesterolemia

Both patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and with hypercholestero lemia have a more extensive and accelerated atherosclerosis with higher com mon carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) values than the general po pulation, The aim of this study was to compare the CIMT in polygenic hyperc holesterolemia (HP; n=41: 30 females and 11 males, aged 52 +/- 15 yr) and i n T2DM (n=43: 22 females and 21 males, aged 59 +/- 11, yr), with a duration of disease less than 5 yr and no evidence of coronary heart disease. A con trol group (C) of 40 sex- and age-matched healthy subjects was studied. We evaluated the CIMT on the far wall of the distal segment of the common caro tid arteries on sites free of plaque. The mean of the CIMT measurements (Tm ean; 9 on each side) and the maximal CIMT measured (Tmax) were used as the representative values for each subject. Tmax values were 0.96 +/-0.2 mm and 0.82 +/-0.2 mm in T2DM and HP, respectively, which were significantly high er than C (0.74 +/-0.1 mm). Corresponding values of Tmean were 0.8 +/-0.1 m m and 0.71 +/-0.2 mm, both significantly higher than C (0.68 +/-0.1 mm). In HP, both Tmax and Tmean values were positively correlated to age (p=0.0001 and p=0.0001, respectively), body mass index (BMI; p=0.05 and p=0.05, resp ectively), presence of hypertension (p=0.003 and p=0.0008, respectively) an d fibrinogen (p=0.0009 and p=0.001, respectively); Tmean was also correlate d to apolipoprotein B (ApoB; p=0.03). The multiple "stepwise" regression an alysis revealed fibrinogen and age as the only significant determinants of Tmax and Tmean. In T2DM Tmax and Tmean were positively correlated to age on ly (p=0.04 and p=0.01, respectively). In conclusion, T2DM patients have a m ore accelerated atherosclerosis than subjects with HP, This is evident afte r a short duration of disease, probably for a longer latency period of dise ase and the presence of multiple risk factors, (C) 2001, Editrice Kurtis.