Young People with Type 1 diabetes have abnormal insulin resistance just as Type 2 sufferers, and consequently run the same risk of cardiovascular ailments, a news study finds.
Insulin resistance is not generally associated with Type 1 diabetes, nor is it commonly measured by Type 1 sufferers, since they typically do not have symptoms such as obesity. But the study, to be published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, contends that insulin resistance is present in youth with Type 1 diabetes, according to a report in Science Daily.
The study also shows that insulin resistance appears to pose the same risks to cardiovascular health for Type 1 sufferers as it does in those with Type 2.
Researchers measured insulin sensitivity and heart, blood and exercise function in 12 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, comparing their readings with those from 12 control patients without diabetes, but similar in age, pubertal stage, activity level and body mass index. The results indicated that insulin resistance is directly related to decreased heart and vessel function and appears to impair the capacity to exercise.
To date, the impact of Type 1 diabetes on youth’s cardiovascular health has been rarely studied, said the study’s lead author, Kristen Nadeau of the University of Colorado Denver. But identifying insulin resistance early on, and spotting the connection with cardiovascular health, could be the crucial step in preventing chain-effect cardiovascular disease, she says.
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