Changs of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and carotid intimal-medial thickness in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism

Objective To investigate the changes of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity(baPWV)and carotid intimal-medial thickness (IMT) in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism. Methods Thirty subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT group), 30 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 30 with diabetes mellitus (DM) were investigated. The baPWV was measured by an automatic atherosclerosis assay instrument carotid IMT was detected by echography. Results With the worsening of abnormal glucose metabolism, from NGT, IGT to DM, both the carotid IMT and baPWV increased gradually (F=13.40, P0.0 5 vs. F=15.26, P0.01). There was positive correlation between baPWV and carotid IMT (r=0.856, P 0.01). Conclusions baPWV is well correlated with carotid IMT, both baPWV and carotid IMT can predict the existence and severity of atherosclerosis in elderly diabetic patients.