Arterial stiffness and endothelial inflammation in prediabetes and newly diagnosed diabetes patients

There is a growing body of data supporting the association between diabetes and microcirculatory disfunction. We aimed to study e-selectin levels, and their associations with serum markers of inflammation and arterial stiffness in prediabetes and newly diagnosed diabetes patients in this study.

Sixty patients (25 females) with a newly established elevated fasting serum glucose [20 impaired fasting glucose (IFG), 20 impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), 20 newly diagnosed diabetes (T2DM)] and 17 healthy controls (13 females) were included in the study. Serum e-selectin and hs-CRP levels, and arterial stiffness parameters of the patients were studied.

Fasting serum glucose was the most important predictor of serum e-selectin levels. Pulse wave velocity and central aortic pressures were significantly higher in IFG, IGT and T2DM groups, compared to controls (p = 0.001, < 0.001, 0.013 and 0.015, 0.002, 0.009, respectively). The mean arterial pressure did not show any significant association with serum e-selectin and hs-CRP levels (β coefficient: 0.092, p = 0.358; and β coefficient: 0.189, p = 0.362, respectively).

Prediabetes patients have increasing e-selectin levels through the diagnosis of T2DM. E-selectin is associated with serum glucose levels. Prediabetic and newly diagnosed diabetics have higher arterial stiffness measurements. Serum e-selectin may be a good marker of endothelial inflammation and dysfunction increasing in parallel with serum glucose levels, predicting future cardiovascular events.