ESPE Abstracts

Background: Cardiovascular risk and obesity are rising problems among individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Interventions targeted at decreasing cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes may be most effective during adolescence and young adulthood, before atherosclerotic lesions become advanced or cardiac changes become irreversible.

Objective and hypotheses: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and obesity in T1D children, adolescents and young adults in Lithuania.

Method: A cohort of 883 patients diagnosed with T1D for at least 6 months was investigated. 66.8% of the study cohort were children and adolescents (<18 years, n=590) and 33.2% – young adults (18–25 years, n=293). Anthropometric parameters and blood pressure were measured, and lipid profile and HbA1c were determined. Dyslipidemia was diagnosed if at least one lipid profile parameter was outside the normal range. All patients were evaluated for microvascular diabetes complications.

Results: Study subjects’ mean HbA1c was 8.5±2%, 19.5% (n=171) were overweight and 3.6% (n=32) were obese. Hypertension and dyslipidemia were diagnosed in 29.8 and 84.7% of participants, respectively. HbA1c concentration was directly related to levels of total cholesterol (r=0.274, P<0.001), low-density lipoprotein (r=0.271, P<0.001) and triglycerides (r=0.407, P<0.001), and inversely correlated with levels of high-density lipoprotein (r=−0.117, P=0.001). Prevalence of dyslipidemia increased with duration of diabetes (P<0.05). Hypertension was more prevalent in overweight and obese compared to normal weight patients (44.6 vs 25.6%, respectively, P<0.001). Adjusted for disease duration and HbA1c, frequency of microvascular complications was higher among patients with dyslipidemia (24.5 vs 21.5%, respectively, P<0.001) and among those with hypertension (25.9 vs 23.2%, P<0.001).

Conclusion: The frequency of cardiovascular risk factors is high in young people with T1D and is associated with diabetes duration, obesity and poor metabolic control.