Inappropriately high left ventricular mass in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and no overt cardiac disease. The DYDA study

BACKGROUND: An inappropriately high left ventricular mass (iLVM) may be detected in patients with diabetes mellitus. Several hemodynamic and nonhemodynamic factors stimulating LVM growth may actively operate in these patients. In this study, we assessed prevalence and factors associated with iLVM in patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: We analyzed baseline data from 708 patients (61 ± 7 years, 57% treated for hypertension) with type 2 diabetes mellitus without evidence of cardiac disease enrolled in the left ventricular dysfunction in diabetes study. iLVM was diagnosed by Doppler echocardiography as LVM more than 28% of the expected LVM predicted from height, sex and stroke work. RESULTS: iLVM was detected in 166 patients (23%), irrespective of concomitant hypertension. Patients with iLVM were more frequently women, had higher BMI and prevalence of metabolic syndrome, higher serum triglyceride levels and were treated more frequently with metformin and diuretics. In a multivariate model, female sex [odds ratio (OR) 1.502 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.010-2.231), P = 0.04], higher serum triglyceride levels [OR 1.007 (95% CI 1.003-1.012), P < 0.001] and BMI [OR 1.220 (95% CI 1.116-1.335), P < 0.001] emerged independently related to iLVM. CONCLUSION: iLVM is detectable in about a quarter of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without evidence of cardiac disease and is unrelated to blood pressure levels. The association between LVM and some components of metabolic syndrome in these patients may have important practical implications.