Comparison of the Intima-media Thickness of Carotid Artery in Children with Diabetes Type One and Control Group Using Ultrasound

Diabetes is a very important factor for stroke due to blocked blood vessels. It can involve systemic and cerebrovascular arteries at the same time via microangiopathy and macroangiopathy. This project aimed to compare the intima-media thickness of carotid artery in children with diabetes type and the control group.
In this case-control study, 50 children with the age of 5-18 years were enrolled in two equal groups of patients and controls. After obtaining informed consent and completing the demographic data, carotid artery ultrasound, lipid profile test and checking random blood pressure was conducted for the subjects. Then, the data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software.
The mean intima-media thickness of the carotid artery was 0.45 ± 0.09 and 0.38 ± 0.06 in control and patient groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.004).
The intima-media thickness of the carotid artery and serum lipid profiles in children with diabetes was significantly higher than the control group. In addition, in children with diabetes, the systolic blood pressure was significantly correlated with the increased intima-media thickness of the carotid artery.