Weight loss may slow atherosclerosis in diabetics

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In addition to reducing cholesterol and other known cardiac risk factors, new study findings suggest that controlling one's weight will help slow the build up of calcium on the walls of the coronary arteries and retard the progression of atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, also referred to as "hardening of the arteries, is when the arteries narrow as a result of calcium deposits, which restricts blood flow and increases the risk of clot formation.

Dr. Trevor J. Orchard and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, identified risk factors for coronary artery disease progression in 222 adults with type 1 diabetes and examined if changes in these factors influenced progression to coronary artery disease. The subjects were participants in the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study, a prospective investigation of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes.

The patients underwent two electron beam tomographic screenings 4 years apart and progression as defined as an increase greater than 2.5 in the square root-transformed coronary arteries score, according to findings published in the American Journal of Cardiology

When the team assessed changes in risk factors, an increase in weight was the most influential modifiable risk factor associated with coronary artery disease progression, increasing the risk by 38 percent.

"Our ultimate goal is to identify the rate of progression that best predicts subsequent cardiovascular events," Orchard's team explains.

Although there is not yet enough follow-up time and data to fully address this issue, a preliminary look suggests that an increase coronary artery score "is the best single predictor of coronary artery disease events," they note. About 9 percent of the study patients had this risk factor after 4 years.

Furthermore, the investigators conclude, that for type 1 diabetes to slow the progression of coronary artery disease, as well as for other health reasons, weight control is important.

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, November 15, 2007.