Cardiac issues seen in patients with poorly controlled diabetes

ALEXANDRIA, Va. A study included in the May 2009 journal Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association, demonstrated preclinical abnormalities of cardiac structure and function in adolescent girls with Type 2 diabetes, despite the short duration of diabetes.

The learnings highlight the potential high cardiovascular risk occurring in adolescent Type 2 diabetes, the authors concluded.

As part of the research, 19 adolescent girls were recruited, eight with Type 2 diabetes and 11 with Type 1 diabetes, from a hospital diabetes service and 20 control subjects without diabetes from the schools of the diabetic subjects.

The groups were similar in age and height, but significant differences in body composition were observed. Subjects with Type 2 diabetes had larger left ventricular dimensions and left ventricular mass, which persisted when indexed to height. Diastolic filling was impaired in both diabetic groups, and systolic longitudinal function was lower in the Type 2 diabetic group. Half of the group with Type 2 diabetes met the published criteria for LVH and left ventricular dilatation; 25% had evidence of elevated left ventricular filling pressure in association with structural abnormalities.