In patients with type 1 diabetes, we investigated the association between arterial stiffness and diabetes complications.

This was a cross-sectional study including 676 Caucasian patients with type 1 diabetes (374 [55%] men, aged 54 ± 13 years [mean ± SD]) and 51 nondiabetic controls (28 [55%] men, aged 47 ± 13 years). Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured with SphygmoCor (AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia) for 635 patients and all 51 controls.

PWVs (mean ± SD) in patients and controls were 10.4 ± 3.4 and 7.6 ± 1.9 m/s, respectively (P < 0.001). After multivariate adjustment, PWV correlated with age, diabetes duration, urinary albumin excretion rate, heart rate, and blood pressure (P < 0.05 for all). ANCOVA was used for comparisons between groups and adjusted for gender, age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, heart rate, HbA_1c, and 24-h mean arterial pressure. PWVs in normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric, and macroalbuminuric patients were 9.5 ± 3.2, 11.0 ± 3.6, and 11.4 ± 3.0 m/s, respectively (adjusted P < 0.001). PWV in patients with previous cardiovascular disease, versus patients without, was 12.1 ± 3.5 vs. 10.0 ± 3.2 m/s, respectively (adjusted P < 0.001). PWVs in patients with high (≥140/90 mmHg) versus intermediate (130–40/80–89 mmHg) and low (<130/80 mmHg) blood pressure were 11.8 ± 3.6, 10.0 ± 3.0, and 9.8 ± 3.3 m/s, respectively (adjusted P < 0.001). Furthermore, PWV increased with increasing degree of retinopathy: 8.0 ± 2.5 m/s (nil), 10.0 ± 2.8 m/s (simplex), 12.1 ± 3.5 m/s (proliferative), and 12.7 ± 2.4 m/s (blind), respectively (adjusted P < 0.001). Finally, PWV increased with abnormal heart rate variability: 11.5 ± 3.3 m/s vs. 10.1 ± 3.1 m/s (borderline) and 8.1 ± 2.1 m/s (normal) (adjusted P = 0.027).

Arterial stiffness increased with presence and duration of type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, PWV increased with all the investigated diabetes complications (cardiovascular, renal, retinal, and autonomic disease) independently of other risk factors.