Vascular endothelial and smooth muscle function relates to body mass index and glucose in obese and nonobese children

ContextEndothelial and smooth muscle dysfunction are critical precursors of atherosclerosis. These can be detected in children at risk of cardiovascular disease.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to evaluate endothelial and smooth muscle function and their determinants using flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and glyceryl trinitrate-mediated dilatation (GTN) in obese, nonobese, and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) children.DesignThis is a cross-sectional study.SubjectsThe study subjects were 270 children [140 males, mean age 13.7 (2.8) yr] including 58 obese, 53 nonobese, and 159 T1DM children.MeasurementsVascular function (FMD and GTN), body mass index (BMI) z-score, blood pressure, glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, lipids, folate, homocysteine, and high sensitive C-reactive protein were measured.ResultsFMD and GTN were significantly lower in obese and T1DM compared with nonobese subjects (P ConclusionsChildren with obesity and T1DM have a similar degree of vascular dysfunction. BMI and weight adjusted for age and sex relate to endothelial and smooth muscle function in nonobese and obese children. Glucose relates to smooth muscle function in nonobese nondiabetic children. This suggests a continuum effect of BMI and glucose within the normal range on vascular function in childhood.Alexia Sophie Peña, Esko Wiltshire, Karen MacKenzie, Roger Gent, Lino Piotto, Craig Hirte, and Jennifer Coupe