The relationship between pulse wave velocity and microvascular complications in patients with diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study

Objective To evaluate the relationship between microvascular complications and their combinations in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), an indicator of arterial stiffness (AS). Materials and methods A total of 160 patients with type 2 DM were consecutively enrolled in this cross-sectional study. PWV and clinical/laboratory data were recorded. Groups were compared according to the presence and combinations of diabetic nephropathy (DN), diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and diabetic retinopathy (DRP). Independent predictors of PWV were analyzed using multiple linear regression models. Results The mean age was 60.85 ± 9.64 years, and the mean PWV was 8.90 ± 1.66 m/s. PWV was higher in the presence of DRP (9.47 vs. 8.70; p = 0.010) and was found to be independently associated in multivariate analysis (p = 0.047). PWV was increased in the presence of DPN (9.16 vs. 8.58; p = 0.023) but no independent association was demonstrated (p = 0.360). PWV was significantly higher in the presence of DN (9.76 vs. 8.52; p < 0.001) and remained an independent predictor (p = 0.017). In the combination analyses, while DN + DPN (p = 0.012) and DRP + DPN (p = 0.001) were independently associated with PWV, the triple combination (p = 0.091) and DN + DRP (p = 0.338) were not found to be statistically significant. Age was the strongest predictor in all models (p < 0.001). Conclusion PWV increases in DM patients with microvascular complications, particularly in the presence of DN and DRP, suggesting that it may parallel microvascular burden. PWV measurement may contribute to the identification of cardiovascular (CV) high-risk phenotypes by reflecting increased AS burden in DM patients with microvascular complications.