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Squatting amplifies pulse pressure increase with disease duration in patients with type 1 diabetes
Jean-Christophe Philips1, Monique Marchand, André J Scheen
1Division of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders, Department of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sart Tilman, University of Liége, Liège, Belgium.
Objective:
To evaluate pulse pressure changes according to duration of type 1 diabetes and to assess the influence of posture.
Research Design And Methods:
We performed continuous measurement of blood pressure with a Finapres device during a 3 x 1 min posture test (standing, squatting, standing) in 159 type 1 diabetic patients divided into four groups according to diabetes duration (
Results:
Pulse pressure progressively increased according to type 1 diabetes duration (P < 0.0001), especially in women, but not in age-matched nondiabetic subjects (NS). Pulse-pressure increase from group 1 to group 4 was amplified in the squatting position (from 50 +/- 17 to 69 +/- 14 mmHg) compared with standing (from 44 +/- 15 to 55 +/- 12 mmHg).
Conclusions:
Pulse pressure increases according to type 1 diabetes duration more in women than in men, and the squatting position sensitizes such pulse-pressure increase in both sexes.
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