Clinical interaction between diabetes duration and aortic stiffness in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Diabetes complications increase with disease duration. No study was performed on the relationship between aortic stiffness and diabetes duration, taking into account the respective influence of such factors on macro- and microcirculation. In total, 618 subjects with type 2 diabetes (259 men) attending the Department of Internal Medicine of Tizi Ouzou Hospital (Algeria) were studied in collaboration with Hotel-Dieu Hospital (Paris, France). Brachial blood pressure (BP), anthropometric, clinical and biological data were evaluated. Aortic stiffness was estimated by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). From lower to higher tertile of diabetes duration, age, BP and PWV (10.1±2.7 to 12.3±2.8 m s −1 ) increased, while diabetes control and renal function worsened (all P