The Relationship Between Low-Grade Inflammation and Common Femoral Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Besides the observed risks in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), intima-media thickness (IMT) is a surrogate marker for early diagnosing atherosclerosis and assessing the risk of subsequent developing cardiovascular disease. Low-grade inflammation (LGI) plays an important role in the development of intima-media damage of blood vessels in diabetes. Compared with IMT in the carotid artery, thickening IMT in the femoral artery occurs earlier and well reflects atherosclerosis process in diabetes mellitus. Objectives: To investigate the relationship between LGI and common femoral artery IMT in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study on 332 patients with T2DM diagnosed for the first time administered to Vietnam National Hospital of Endocrinology. LGI is defined as patients with high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) from 3 to 10 mg/L. hs-CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR) was used as a marker for LGI. The position for IMT assessment is 2 cm from the bifurcation of the common femoral artery toward the groin following Pignoli’s method by B-mode ultrasound. Results: Patients with LGI showed higher IMT than those without LGI ( P  < .05). In multivariate linear regression, CAR positively correlated with IMT after adjusting with age, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and LDL-C, with a standardized beta of 0.296 and P  < .001. There were significant differences in CAR among groups stratified by IMT. In the logistic regression model, covariates for gender, BMI, HbA1c, LDL-C, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride, and triglyceride-to-HDL ratio were adjusted. It was determined that the likelihood of an increase in IMT was 3.68 times higher than the baseline (Q1) risk for Q4 and 2.27 times higher for Q2 of CAR. There was a positive correlation between elevated levels of CAR and an increased risk of IMT. Conclusion: In patients with newly diagnosed T2DM, there is a relationship between LGI and common femoral artery IMT. Particularly, IMT positively correlated with CAR.