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(Hypertension. 2004;44:67.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
From the Departments of Diabetes and Endocrinology (L.D.A., A.S., G.V., R.H.J.) and Clinical Pharmacology (S.C.M., J.M.R., P.J.C.), Guys and St Thomas Hospital, Center for Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, Kings College, London, UK.
Correspondence to Dr PJ Chowienczyk, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St Thomas Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EH, UK. E-mail phil.chowienczyk{at}kcl.ac.uk
| Abstract |
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Key Words: aorta diabetes elasticity hypertension
| Introduction |
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| Methods |
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T) was computed from the foot to foot time difference between carotid and femoral waveforms. The distance between the surface markings of the sternal notch and femoral artery was used to estimate the path length between the carotid and femoral arteries (L), and PWV computed as L/
T. The within-subject standard deviation of PWV assessed using this method in our laboratory is 0.5 m · s1.
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Statistical Analysis
Results are summarized as means±SE. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was used to confirm associations between PWV and age and between PWV and blood pressure and to explore the relation with other risk factors. A generalized linear model (GLM, SPSS, version 11.0) was used to examine the interaction of diabetic status with age and sex. MAP rather than systolic blood pressure or pulse pressure was used as the covariate in these models, because MAP determines mean transmural pressure. Studies in isolated arteries and in vivo in peripheral arteries22,23 suggest that mean transmural pressure is the main determinant of PWV, whereas systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure are influenced as a result of increased aortic stiffness.24 P<0.05 was taken as statistically significant, and all tests were 2-tailed.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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Our study did not address possible mechanisms by which diabetes could accelerate age-related stiffening of the aorta in women but not in men. Estrogen affects connective tissue structure through a variety of mechanisms,29 and, in post-menopausal women, hormone replacement therapy is associated with reduced arterial stiffness in nondiabetic post-menopausal women30,31 but not in post-menopausal women with diabetes.32 It is, therefore, possible that diabetes reverses or negates beneficial effects of estrogen on aortic stiffness. Changes in the type or structure of elastin and/or collagen, particularly the formation of cross links through nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins33 could also have a role. Although no relationship was found in our study between glycemic control as reflected by HbA1c levels and aortic PWV we found a strong independent relation between PWV and duration of diabetes in women. It is unlikely that metabolic factors other than diabetes played a role in determining the present findings. We found no significant relationship of PWV with total cholesterol, triglycerides, or HDL-cholesterol. Although positive and negative associations of aortic stiffness with cholesterol have been reported using different methods,34 most studies using PWV have shown no correlation with total cholesterol.17,18,34 A notable exception is in young subjects with familial hypercholesterolaemia, where a negative correlation has been observed.35 The present findings are in line with a recent large population-based study (n=993) by Amar et al.36 These investigators found no significant relationship between PWV and total cholesterol in untreated subjects and only a weak relationship with apolipoprotein B in subjects treated for cardiovascular risk factors. Furthermore, no correlation was seen between PWV and the various components of the metabolic syndrome, including BMI, fasting glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and HDL-cholesterol. The lack of correlation of PWV with smoking in the present study is also consistent with previous findings.36,37
The importance of PWV is thought to relate not only to its association with structural changes within the vascular wall but also to adverse hemodynamic effects. These include an increase in systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure and, hence, an increase in dynamic left ventricular load. Brachial artery pulse pressure is more closely predictive of mortality than systolic or diastolic blood pressure in older patients in the Framingham cohort38 and in patients with type 2 diabetes.39 In the present study, brachial systolic blood pressure and brachial pulse pressure were similar in all subject groups, yet PWV was higher in women with diabetes compared with nondiabetic control women. This implies that brachial pulse pressure has limitations as a measure of aortic stiffness and may not detect the accelerated age-related increase in aortic stiffness seen in women with type 2 diabetes. Brachial pulse pressure does not necessarily equate to central pulse pressure (because of peripheral amplification16), and it is possible that central pulse pressure is more closely related to PWV. Peripheral amplification is, however, less marked in older subjects40 and therefore the similarity of brachial pulse pressure in older diabetic and nondiabetic women suggests that central blood pressure is unlikely to differ between these groups in our study. Factors other than aortic stiffness, such as stroke volume and peripheral resistance, influence pulse pressure24 and may account for the limited correlation that we observed between pulse pressure and PWV. This accounted for only 26% of the variability in pulse pressure and is compatible with a disassociation between effects of aging on PWV and pulse pressure. An elevated PWV in women with diabetes may be associated with adverse hemodynamic effects other than increased pulse pressure such as earlier return of pressure wave reflection. This will alter the profile of the aortic pressure waveform and hence may adversely affect coronary hemodynamics, particularly coronary perfusion pressure.
Our study had a number of limitations. The limited sample size and the fact that 28% of diabetic subjects were treated with insulin means that the results cannot be generalized to all subjects with diabetes. We cannot exclude a type II error with respect to a small difference between PWV (or the slope of the PWV versus age relationship) in men with and without diabetes but this would not influence the positive findings with respect to the gender difference. It is possible that differences in the distribution of antihypertensive drugs may have influenced the results. However, we found no difference between PWV with respect to groups treated with different drugs, and previous studies have demonstrated no significant difference in long-term effects of different classes of antihypertensive drugs.41 Finally, the operator was not blind to diabetic status, introducing the theoretical possibility of bias. Measurements of PWV were, however, performed using an automatic system minimizing this possibility.
In conclusion, in subjects with type 2 diabetes on treatment, diabetes is associated with a greater age-related stiffening of the aorta in women compared with men and this is not explained by hypertension.
Received December 9, 2003; first decision January 6, 2004; accepted April 21, 2004.
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