Non-invasive markers of atherosclerosis and their correlation with Framingham risk score in Indian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background : India has been referred as the capital of the world”. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is widely accepted as a vascular disease leading to substantive increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, there has been much interest in the relationship between arterial stiffness and cardiovascular disease. So this study was conducted to assess the risk of atherosclerosis in patients with DM. Aim : To investigate the relationship between non-invasive oscillometric methods that assesses subclinical atherosclerosis, and Framingham Risk Score (FRS), an independent predictor of CVD, in patients with type 2 DM, and age-matched hypertensive and healthy controls. Methods : The four study groups consisted of group A I; patients with diabetes mellitus (>5 years) along with hypertension (n=55), group A II; newly diagnosed patients with DM without hypertension (n=28), group B I; patients with hypertension (n=31) and group B II; healthy controls (n=30). The participants were subjected to oscillometric measurements like arterial stiffness index (ASI), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and augmentation index (AIx). All these parameters were correlated with FRS. Results : The PWV, ASI, AIx as well as FRS of 30 yr risk of CVD were elevated in patients with DM compared to healthy controls. A significant correlation was observed between FRS, and PWV, ASI, and AIx. Conclusion : This study reveals that non-invasive oscillometric markers can be useful in early detection of early atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 DM.