
Shaymaa Raafat
Alexandria University, EgyptPresentation Title:
Relation between the epicardial fat thickness and the cardiac conduction system in children and adolescents with diabetes
Abstract
Introduction: Atherosclerosis
in patients with type 1 diabetes starts early in childhood with subclinical
abnormalities. The epicardial fat thickness (EFT) is a novel method for detecting
these early changes. Furthermore, electrocardiographic markers may be altered
in patients with diabetes owing to early cardiovascular changes. This study
aimed to determine the relationship between EFT and electrocardiographic
markers in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: Children
with type 1 diabetes who were followed up at Alexandria University Children’s Hospital Diabetes
Clinic were enrolled in this study. The study recruited three groups of
participants, including 20 patients with a
diabetes duration of less than
5 years, 20 patients with a diabetes duration of 5 years or
more, and 20 healthy controls. All participants were evaluated with emphasis on
anthropometric measurements, fasting blood glucose
levels, and lipid profile. HbA1c levels were measured in the cohort with diabetes. All participants underwent
electrocardiography for measurement of P-wave dispersion, corrected QT interval
and its dispersion, and Tp-e measurement. Echocardiography was
performed to measure the EFT.
Results: Among all participants, EFT was
significantly higher in children with a diabetes duration of ≥ 5 years (p= 0.009). Furthermore, P-wave dispersion was
significantly prolonged in children with diabetes compared to
that in non-diabetics (p= 0.041). There was a statistically
significant correlation between EFT and P-wave dispersion in patients with diabetes aged ³
5 years (p = 0.021).
Conclusions:
Measurement of EFT by Echocardiography is a novel and
easy way to predict early cardiovascular changes in children with diabetes, including conduction system disorders.
Biography
Shaymaa Raafat has completed her PHD in 2018 in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes from Alexandria University, Egypt. She is a member in both European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and International society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes. She has 20 publications.