The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of metabolic control on the development of atherosclerotic lesions in type 1 insulin-dependent diabetic patients (IDDM).
Materials and methods: Twenty-eight well controlled IDDM patients, without known risk factors or clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease, together with 28 age-matched healthy controls spontaneously underwent high-resolution echographic evaluation of carotid femoral arteries. A global score of atherosclerotic damage as been assigned to the four investigated vessels on the basis of 1-6 scale, which takes into account most important ultrasound atherosclerotic lesion found in every artery.
Results: Diabetic and healthy controls differed significantly as regard to medio-intimal carotid thickness (p < 0.001), but were similar as for score of atherosclerotic damage.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that, in spite of a carotid wall medio-intimal thickness more pronounced in IDDM patients, well controlled IDDM is associated with atherosclerotic damage almost identical to that of healthy age-matched controls.