Ultrasound Tissue Characterization of Carotid Plaques Differs Between Patients with Type 1 Diabetes and Subjects without Diabetes

The aim of the study was to investigate ultrasound tissue characterization of carotid plaques in subjects with and without diabetes type 1 (T1D). B-mode carotid ultrasound was performed to assess the presence and type of plaque in a group of 340 subjects with and 304 without T1D, all of them without cardiovascular disease. One hundred and seven patients with T1D (49.5% women; age 54 +/- 9.8 years) and 67 control subjects without diabetes who had at least one carotid plaque were included in the study. The proportion of subjects who had only echolucent plaques was reduced in the group of patients with T1D (48.6% vs. 73.1%). In contrast, the proportion with only echogenic (25.2% vs. 7.5%) and calcified plaques (9.4% vs. 1.5%) was increased compared with subjects without diabetes. Moreover, having at least one echogenic plaque was more frequent in T1D patients compared with subjects without diabetes (49.5% vs. 26.9% p = 0.005). In addition to diabetes (OR 2.28; p = 0.026), age (OR 1.06, p = 0.002) was the other variable associated with echogenic plaque existence in multiple regression analysis. Patients with T1D exhibit a differential pattern of carotid plaque type compared with subjects without diabetes, with an increased frequency of echogenic and extensively calcified plaques.