Is visceral adiposity a modifier for the impact of blood pressure on arterial stiffness and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes?

Background: We aimed to investigate whether visceral adiposity could modify the impact of blood pressure on arterial stiffness and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This cross-sectional study examines the interaction of visceral adiposity with increased blood pressure on arterial stiffness and albuminuria. 638 patients with type 2 diabetes ( mean age 64 +/- 12 years; 40 % female) were enrolled. Visceral fat area (VFA, cm(2)) was assessed by a dual-impedance analyzer, whereby patients were divided into those with VFA < 100 (N = 341) and those with VFA >= 100 (N = 297). Albuminuria was measured in a single 24-h urine collection (UAE, mg/day) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV, cm/s) was used for the assessment of arterial stiffening. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the association of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and VFA with UAE and baPWV. Results: Patients with VFA >= 100 were significantly younger, had higher SBP, HbA1c, triglycerides, UAE, alanine aminotransferase, C-reactive protein and lower high-density lipoprotein and shorter duration of diabetes than those with VFA < 100. SBP was significantly and almost equivalently associated with ba-PWV both in VFA < 100 (standardized beta 0.224, p = 0.001) and VFA >= 100 (standardized beta 0.196, p = 0.004) patients in the multivariate regression analysis adjusting for covariates including age, gender, HbA1c, diabetic complications and the use of insulin and anti-hypertensive agents. By contrast, the association of SBP with UAE was stronger in patients with VFA >= 100 (standardized beta 0.263, p = 0.001) than that in patients with VFA < 100 (standardized beta 0.140, p = 0.080) in the multivariate regression model. In the whole cohort, the significant interaction between SBP and VFA on UAE (standardized beta 0.172, p = 0.040) but not on ba-PWV (standardized beta -0.008, p = 0.916) was observed. Conclusions: The effect of increased blood pressure on arterial stiffness is almost similar in type 2 diabetic patients with both low and high visceral adiposity, while its association with albuminuria is stronger in the latter.