Insulin exposure mitigates the increase of arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuria: an exploratory analysis

AIMS: Insulin possesses both vasodilatory and sympathomimetic activities. The aim was to examine the relationship between changes in insulin exposure and arterial stiffness in type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS: Patients with T2D with (n = 22) or without (n = 24) albuminuria, and non-diabetic controls (n = 25) were randomized to a crossover study having a breakfast with or without pre-meal rapid-acting insulin. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured at 30 min before and at 60-min intervals up to 240 min after the breakfast. RESULTS: At baseline, both postprandial aortic (p = 0.022) and brachial (p = 0.011) PWV were higher in individuals with T2D than in healthy controls irrespective of the presence of albuminuria. In patients with albuminuria, weight-adjusted insulin dose correlated inversely with the excursion of the aortic (r = − 0.412, p = 0.006) and brachial (r = − 0.372; p = 0.014) PWV. Similarly, circulating endogenous insulin concentrations correlated inversely with the aortic (r = − 0.347, p = 0.026) and brachial (r = − 0.622, p = <0.001) PWV. No correlations between insulin and PWV were observed in patients without albuminuria or in healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The inverse correlation between insulin and PWV in T2D with albuminuria may reflect a vasorelaxing effect of insulin. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: The study was registered (clinicaltrials.gov) with the identifier of NCT01159938.