Relationship between glycosylated hemoglobin and arterial elasticity

Arterial elasticity is decreased in diabetes, but it is unclear whether there is a relationship between glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and arterial elasticity. To evaluate this question, 111 subjects with diabetes mellitus had HbA1c and arterial elasticity determined in an academic outpatient setting. Three measurements of arterial elasticity indices were obtained supine using the HDI/PulseWave CR-2000 Research CardioVascular Profiling System (Hypertension Diagnostics Inc., Eagan, MN). The study population was 49% black and 51% women. Population characteristics included age, 49.2 years; duration of diabetes, 12.1 years; HbA1c, 8.9%; large artery elasticity, 11.8 mL/mm Hg x 10; and small artery elasticity, 4.7 mL/mm Hg x 100. Age correlated with diminished large artery elasticity. Women had a lower large artery elasticity than men (10.6 vs. 13.3 mL/mm Hg x 10; p = 0.0002). Decreasing small artery elasticity was associated with increasing age (p = 0.0001), HbA1c (p = 0.0184), and African-American ethnicity (p = 0.0306). Women had less small artery elasticity than men (3.8 vs. 5.8 mL/mm Hg x 100; p = 0.0001). Black diabetic patients had a reduced arterial elasticity compared with whites. Increasing HbA1c is associated with decreasing small artery elasticity, but not large artery elasticity. In diabetic patients, small artery elasticity is reduced to a greater extent in women than men and in blacks than whites.