posted 01/02/03
High blood pressure and heart disease may begin much earlier than originally thought in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a recent study.
Researchers in Canada have found changes in vascular health begin before patients with type 1 diabetes even show signs of the diabetic complications. A study of 59 patients with type 1 diabetes reveals nearly half have diminished large artery and small artery compliance, or changes in the vascular wall, before clinical symptoms of diabetes complications were detected. The study used pulse-wave technology to assess vascular health in study participants.
Researchers believe the diminished vascular compliance in diabetic patients occurs for several reasons, including an alteration in the structure of blood vessels in patients with diabetes.
Lead study author Jacques S. Romney, M.D., from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, says the study results only emphasize that vascular changes begin at an early stage in the disease and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients already susceptible to it. Authors of the study write, "Larger prospective studies are required to confirm this finding and to investigate the efficacy of medical intervention."
Source: Ivanhoe Newswire: Diabetes Care, 2001;24:2102-2106.
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