Young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus are characterised by high frequency of masked hypertension that is associated with increased arterial stiffness
Authors: Troitskaya E , Stavtseva Y , Medvedev D , Petrosyan A , Safarova A , Kobalava Z 
Published: November 2020

Background

Hypertension (HTN) is a major risk factor for microvascular complications and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Masked and nocturnal HTN are associated with increased cardio-vascular (CV) risk and may be common in patients with T1D. Increased arterial stiffness (AS) is associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) and vascular complications. Very few studies have analyzed the association between masked HTN and markers of AS in T1D.

Purpose

To evaluate BP phenotypes and their associations with AS and to assess CV risk in young patients with T1D without history of HTN and other known CVD.

Methods

We included 81 patients with T1D without any history of known CVD. Routine clinical and laboratory evaluation was performed. Office BP was measured with a validated oscillometric device. 24-h ABPM was performed using BPLab Vasotens (“Petr Telegin”). Central BP and AS (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV)) were measured with applanation tonometry. BP phenotypes were analyzed according to the criteria recommended in ESC/ESH 2018 HTN guidelines. CV risk categories were assessed with the global scale of 10-year risk (ESC 2019). P &lt;0.05 was considered significant. Data are presented as median (interquartile range (IQR)).

Results

The study group included 39% males, age 27 (23; 34) years, 24.7 smokers, duration of T1D– 6 (2.8; 11) years, HbA1c – 6.9% (5.6; 7.9%). Brachial BP was 122 (110; 122)/80 (70; 80) mmHg; central BP was 109 (100; 118)/72 (67; 78) mmHg, cfPWV – 6.3 (5.3; 6.7) m/s. High and very high 10-year CV risk was observed in 87.7% of patients. True HTN was observed in 5 (6.2%) patients, masked – in 31 (38.3%), white-coat – in 1 (1.2%), true normotension in 44 (54.3%). Isolated nocturnal HTN was found in 30.7% of patients with office BP &lt;140/90 mmHg. 41% of all patients with clinical normotension had masked HTN and isolated nocturnal HTN was present in 74.2% of them. The most common patterns of diurnal index were non-dipping (63,9%) and night-peaking (16.6%). Patients with masked HTN compared to patients with true normotension were older (31±8.6 vs 26.4±5.5 years, p=0.02), had longer duration of T1D (6 (3; 12.9) vs 4 (0.7; 8) years, p=0.009), higher urine albumin/creatinine ratio (18.5 (11; 29) vs 8 (3; 17) mg/g, p&lt;0.001) and higher cfPWV (7.2 (6.2; 8.2) vs 6.3 (5.8; 6.8) m/s, p=0.002).

Conclusions

Young patients with T1D and clinical normotension are characterized by high frequency of masked HTN (41%) especially isolated nocturnal HTN (74.2%), and high rate of non-dipping. Masked HTN is associated with higher cfPWV and higher albuminuria. This may reflect early vascular changes and potentially lead to further CV risk elevation in this population.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): The publication was prepared with the support of the “RUDN University Program 5-100”