Table 1.
Clinical characteristics at baseline.
| Clinical characteristics | Longstanding diabetes n = 21 |
Early diabetes n = 15 |
Controls n = 30 |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years at recruitment) | 68.9 ± 7.8 | 69.3 ± 5.5 | 69.5 ± 6.2 | 0.950 |
| Gender (women/men) | 10/11 | 8/7 | 16/14 | 0.911 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.5 ± 4.4 | 25.7 ± 4.1 | 25.5 ± 3.8 | 0.680 |
| Diabetes duration (years) | 16.8 ± 4.9 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Fasting glucose (OGTT), mmol/L | 9.4 ± 2.1 | 7.2 ± 1.0 | 6.0 ± 0.6 | <0.001 |
| 2-hour glucose (OGTT), mmol/L | 18.7 ± 3.9 | 13.1 ± 4.2 | 7.9 ± 1.5 | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (mmol/Mol) (%) | 54 ± 11.2 (7.1) | 43 ± 4.9 (6.1) | 37 ± 3.0 (5.5) | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.2 ± 0.8† | 4.5 ± 1.2† | 5.5 ± 1.0 | <0.001 |
| HDL (mmol/L) | 1.3 ± 0.3† | 1.4 ± 0.4† | 1.9 ± 0.5 | <0.001 |
| LDL (mmol/L) | 2.4 ± 0.6† | 2.8 ± 1.1 | 3.3 ± 0.8 | 0.001 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.7 ± 1.3† | 1.3 ± 0.5 | 1.0 ± 0.4 | 0.009 |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) | 84.9 ± 13.5 | 82.3 ± 11.7 | 80.3 ± 12.3 | 0.458 |
| Systolic blood pressure rest (mmHg) | 135 ± 15†† | 152 ± 14 | 139 ± 20†† | 0.015 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, rest (mmHg) | 80 ± 6†† | 86 ± 7 | 81 ± 7 | 0.023 |
| Comorbidity (N) | ||||
| Nephropathy | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Distal neuropathy, % | 4.8 | 6.7 | 0 | 0.400 |
| Hypertension, % | 52 | 47 | 17 | 0.017 |
| Cardiovascular disease, % | 4.8 | 13 | 3.3 | 0.401 |
| Drugs (N) | ||||
| Metformin, % | 81 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Sulphonylurea, % | 19 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| DPP-4 inhibitor, % | 48 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| SGLT2 inhibitor, % | 38 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Another antidiabetic medication, % | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Diet-treated diabetes, % | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Betablocker, % | 4.8 | 20 | 13 | 0.370 |
| ACE-I/ARB, % | 48 | 40 | 10 | <0.001 |
| Other antihypertensive medication, % | 19 | 13 | 7 | 0.410 |
| Lipid modifying treatment, % | 67 | 47 | 13 | <0.001 |
| Smoking status,% (present/past/never) | 10/38/52 | 7/13/80 | 3/43/54 | 0.300 |
Data are means ± SD unless otherwise indicated. p values using one-way ANOVA or Pearson's chi square test. Post hoc test for continuous data between groups using Bonferroni: †significant compared to controls, ††significant compared to early diabetes, all other groups were <0.001 with significant difference to each other. Diabetes duration, comorbidity, smoking status, and drugs are self-reported. Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; OGTT: oral glucose tolerance test; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; DPP-4: dipeptidyl peptidase-4; SGLT-2: sodium-glucose cotransporter 2; ACE-I: angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB: angiotensin receptor blocker.