TY - JOUR TI - Carotid intima media thickness and associations with serum osteoprotegerin and s-RANKL in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus with increased risk for endothelial dysfunction AU - Karavanaki, K. AU - Tsouvalas, E. AU - Vakaki, M. AU - Soldatou, A. AU - Tsentidis, C. AU - Kaparos, G. AU - Augoulea, A. AU - Alexandrou, A. AU - Lambrinoudaki, I. JO - Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism PY - 2018 VL - 31 TODO - 11 SP - 1169-1177 PB - De Gruyter Mouton SN - null TODO - 10.1515/jpem-2018-0147 TODO - biological marker; osteoclast differentiation factor; osteoprotegerin, adolescent; arterial wall thickness; blood; body mass; child; cross-sectional study; diagnostic imaging; echography; female; glucose blood level; human; insulin dependent diabetes mellitus; male; obesity; pathophysiology; vascular endothelium, Adolescent; Biomarkers; Blood Glucose; Body Mass Index; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Endothelium, Vascular; Female; Humans; Male; Osteoprotegerin; Overweight; RANK Ligand; Ultrasonography TODO - Although carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) is an established marker of endothelial dysfunction, limited data exist on relative laboratory biomarkers in youngsters with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Our aim was to study CIMT and the biomarkers of the osteoprotegerin (OPG)/RANKL system in young T1DM patients and controls, and also in subgroups of patients with increased risk for endothelial dysfunction, such as those with overweight/obesity, poor metabolic control or the presence of microalbuminuria. CIMT and OPG/RANKL of 56 T1DM children and adolescents were compared to 28 healthy controls. Anthropometric, laboratory, CIMT and OPG/RANKL measurements were similar between patients and controls. Overweight/obese patients had greater CIMT than the normal weight ones (0.50 vs. 0.44 mm, p=0.001). Microalbuminuric patients had greater CIMT (0.49 vs. 0.44 mm, p=0.035) than the normoalbuminuric ones, with no difference in terms of OPG/RANKL. In the microalbuminuric group, OPG (r=-0.90, p=0.036) and RANKL (r=-0.92, p=0.024) were significantly negatively associated with CIMT. Following linear regression analysis, in the total patients group, microalbuminuria was the only factor significantly associated with CIMT (beta±SE: 0.050±0.021, p=0.035), body mass index (BMI)-z-scores were negatively associated with OPG (beta±SE: -0.25±0.12, p=0.05), while in the microalbuminuric group, CIMT was negatively associated with OPG (beta±SE: -0.070±0.019, p=0.036). During the forward stepwise procedure, microalbuminuria and age were the only variables negatively associated with RANKL (b=-0.334, p=0.034, b=-35.95, p=0.013, respectively). In T1DM pediatric patients, overweight/obesity and microalbuminuria were associated with greater CIMT and with impaired OPG/RANKL levels, as biochemical indices of calcification of the atherosclerotic plaque. © 2018 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. ER -