Correlations of carotid intima-media thickness with endothelial function and atherosclerosis degree in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) with endothelial function and atherosclerosis degree in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A total of 80 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus admitted and treated in our hospital from January 2017 to January 2018 were selected and randomly divided into two groups (n = 40). Patients who were definitely diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus were selected as observation group, and individuals who received health examination and were excluded from type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled as control group. The diagnosed proportions of carotid plaque, Crouse scores, endothelial-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) function and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) function of the brachial arteries in the two groups were compared. The indexes related to vascular endothelial functions [vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) levels] in the two groups were detected. The correlations of Crouse score with brachial arterial FMD value, VEGF level, ET-1 level and NO level in observation group were analyzed. RESULTS: The diagnosed proportion of carotid plaque in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group (P < 0.05), and the Crouse score in observation group was higher than that in control group (P < 0.05). The brachial arterial FMD value in observation group was remarkably lower than that in control group (P < 0.05). Compared with control group, VEGF and ET-1 levels were significantly reduced in observation group (P < 0.05), with the statistical increase of NO level (P < 0.05). In observation group, the Crouse score was negatively correlated with the brachial arterial FMD value, VEGF level and ET-1 level, whereas positively correlated with the NO level (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our data show that the carotid IMT is increased significantly among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and the vascular endothelial function is impaired. Moreover, after the occurrence of atherosclerosis, we found the carotid IMT is negatively correlated with endothelial-dependent FMD, as well as levels of VEGF and ET-1, whereas shows positive correlation with the vasodilative factor NO.