Why carry out this study?

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among the type 1 diabetes population. However, the tools available in daily practice for identifying those more prone to suffer from these events are suboptimal.

This exploratory study aimed to assess the relationships between nuclear magnetic resonance-derived lipidomic variables and several cardiometabolic traits (including preclinical carotid atherosclerosis) among these individuals.

What was learned from the study?

Several lipidomic variables were independently associated with preclinical carotid atherosclerosis, even after adjusting for some confounders such as age, sex, hypertension, statin use, mean 5-year HbA1c and diabetes duration. Specifically, linoleic acid and ω-6 fatty acids seem promising in identifying those with higher plaque burden (≥ 3 carotid plaques).

Since the identification of individuals with T1D at higher risk for developing future CVD is challenging in daily practice, the lipidomic analysis seems promising in this field. Further studies with larger sample size and/or longitudinal designs are needed to confirm our preliminary results.