Assessment of arterial stiffness in type 1 diabetes using digital pulse contour analysis: Is it a reliable method?

The aim of this study was to assess the arterial stiffness in patients with type 1 diabetes compared with a control group and determine the associated potential risk factors for its occurrence.

Fifty-seven subjects with type 1 diabetes and fifty-three healthy controls were submitted to clinical and laboratory evaluation. The peripheral waveform pressure was analyzed to assess arterial stiffness according to the reflection and stiffness index.

Arterial stiffness did not differ between the controls and patients with type 1 diabetes. Pulse pressure showed no difference among both groups. In the group of patients with type 1 diabetes, the stiffness index was correlated with diabetes duration (r = 0.59, p < 0.001), body mass index (r = 0.27, p = 0.03), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.33, p = 0.001), triglycerides (r = 0.35, p = 0.007), and age (r = 0.46, p < 0.001). The reflection index was correlated with the systolic blood pressure (r = 0.29, p = 0.02), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.30, p = 0.02), and cardiac frequency (r = 0.48, p < 0.001). In the stepwise multivariate analysis, disease duration, diastolic blood pressure, and HDL cholesterol were the most important independent variables associated with arterial stiffness in patients with type 1 diabetes.

We concluded that in the studied population, arterial stiffness showed no difference between patients with diabetes and controls; thus, the use of this method should not be indicated for routine clinical practice in type 1 diabetes.