Children of diabetics have artery disease

Adult children who have two parents with type 2 diabetes, but who are free from the disease themselves, have early signs of atherosclerosis.Persons with a strong family history of diabetes are at increased risk of atherosclerosis in addition to risk of diabetes. They may benefit from aggressive cardiovascular risk factor modification, including blood pressure and lipid control, weight management and smoking cessation to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.To investigate whether the offspring of diabetic parents who were free from the disease themselves show early signs of atherosclerosis, researchers from the Harvard Medical School, USA, tested insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in 38 subjects. Half of the subjects had two parents with type 2 diabetes, while the other half had no close relatives with diabetes or coronary artery disease.

It was found that these individuals had arteries with reduced response to changes in blood flow, known as endothelial dysfunction, an early sign of atherosclerosis, sometimes referred to as hardening of the arteries. The average blood sugar levels were slightly higher in the group with a family history of diabetes, but within normal limits. However, those with a family history of diabetes showed a 38-percent lower arterial response than those with no family history of the disease. Even the most insulin-sensitive members of this group showed impaired arterial function.Above is the first study to demonstrate that modest increases in blood sugar, even in the non-diabetic range, can contribute to endothelial dysfunction. This raises the question of when doctors should recommend interventions to lower glucose levels and what should be the appropriate level of glucose recommended to patients with diabetes.

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