Issue 134 Item 15 Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Prone To Reduced Cardiovascul

Adolescents with type 1 diabetes are prone to reduced cardiovascular autonomic reactivity, although cardiovascular integrity is generally well preserved. >Researchers from the Universities of Oulu and Helsinki, Finland, enrolled 100 people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus and 100 healthy controls. The subjects were stratified using the Tanner pubertal stages.

Time domain analysis of heart rate variability at rest or standing did not significantly differ between the patients and controls. Time domain analyses were also similar in controls and patients when the authors stratified patients according to Tanner pubertal stages.

Spectral analysis revealed that patients with type 1 diabetes showed reductions in the very low frequency band of heart rate variability compared to controls when standing. Overall, patients also showed attenuation of the increase in very low frequency and low frequency spectral powers when rising from supine to standing. However, no significant difference emerged between patients and controls within each of the Tanner pubertal stages.

Patients with distal polyneuropathy showed decreased heart rate variability during deep breathing.
Diabet Med 2002;19:932-8